Maxwell Vs The Evil-sight
by Houki Minami
Summary: Maxwell H. Argento, being a muggle-born, knew his first-year in hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry would be far from normal than any other school. However, when students start to get cursed by petrification and the fear of an old evil legacy lurks around the corridors, he realizes his stay will still be quite the bizarre experience./ All-OC FF. Between DH and CC.
1. Maxwell

**Hey there, HP fandom. Thanks for your interest in this story!**

 **So, after a very tiring trip to orlando and a visit to the wizarding world of Harry Potter, I suddenly had the urge to write a story about it, which is strange, since I always liked the series. Since my things are OC, for now, my only contribuition to the fandom as for now will be a ALL-OC fanfiction about another generation of young wizards. So... Here we are. I hope you all like it!**

 **As a ssmall note, this story is between around The Deathly Hallows and(The tentatively canon) Cursed child, so for now, no scorbus bromance. The story passes around 2008, if Anything. Why such random stuff? I'm actually planning new stuff, so help me out in this one.**

 **Also, a small secret: harry Potter doesn't belong to me, all rights to Mrs. J.K. Rowling. With that said, have a nice read... I hope.**

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It was just a _glimpse_...

It was just a small glimpse, a nanosecond not very noticeable by the universe itself, a small space of time between a second and other, unnoticed even by his truly, yet he saw it, a newly sight on his yet so young existence, a sight that would forever be known as his own walk towards maturity; a sight that was never meant to be, yet it happened; a sight which was possibly a sign of his newly adventures in the Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry...

A sight that... Was **light-blue**.

"Hey..."

"Hah...?"

Another sight, this time, a deeper shade of blue, a darker shade of blue. Brown eyes turned upwards to see the author of such voice, and from the black robes, the Hogwarts crest, and flowing golden locks, he saw dark blue eyes staring right back at him. Fair skin tinted in pink; and hands now reaching for the lower part of her uniform, covering the part the wind so dangerously exposed a few seconds ago. Another 'hey' echoed the grand staircase, losing itself between the moving stairs and whispering portraits on the wall, and in response, brown eyes again met with blue eyes, the fair skin even pinker. She blinked; he blinked. No words for the moment; only groans of discomfort and a nervous laugh...

"Y-You... You saw it, didn't you?" She asked, blinking once again. Her blue eyes turned to another direction after some seconds, but returned to silently scold him. She let out a pout that he, admittedly; found very cute, and groaned under her breath, which he deduced it was due to the impatience. Her scowl mutely asked the question again.

"I-I... Didn't see anything." He said. She said nothing, but when they met eyes again, it was clear that she didn't believe him, said stare screaming 'liar!', making him wonder why she even bothered. The uneasy; nervous, false smile was still plastered on his face which was turning pinker by the moment; and millions yet no words were gathering on his brain to answer her again. His brown eyes, which were turned elsewhere in order to avoid her silent judgement, suddenly crawled back to her direction, and that creepy smile on his face spread even more. "I-I might have seen it... B-But if you show me your panties again, m-maybe I'll sure if I saw it or no."

"..."

"..."

That was terrible. That was a terrible sentence. That was a terrible idea to let be known. Even so, the boy didn't bother to correct himself, he was kinda proud about it. Not about the sentence of course, that was a stupid idea, but at least he had the power to let something out. He looked up again to the girl after a few seconds to finally digest what he just said, and instead of a frown, he saw her dark blue eyes wide as humanly possible.

Was due to the shock of his words? The suddenness of such? It wasn't anger or sadness, because there was no indication of either, but after a few seconds, her sudden paleness was replaced by the previous pink cheeks, even though her blue eyes were now half-lit, as she was tired out of the sudden. The boy sighed and scratched his cheek, pinkness also spreading across his face. He was ready to turn around and go back to his common room, but then, he looked up, and saw small hands slowly creeping on the lower part of her uniform. He was taken back, does that mean she's really going to do it? Her tiny hands reached for the hips of her dark robe, and with two fingers each, he clipped around the borders. Now, the boy couldn't even blink right; he was seeing a girl probably around his age slow but steadily lifting her lower robes of the uniform, to first shoe the uncovered area between her black socks and robes, which spread and revealed itself little by little until...

"You... **Pervert**." She spoke, snapping him out of his little stupor. The girl closed her eyes, and let out a deep, heavy sigh, the kind you only do when you've face a heavy defeat, and let go of her robes, again covering what she should with her robes. Without even opening her eyes to look back at him, she turned around and started to head upstairs without a second less. He, who went from surprised to stupored, to lost in her words, blinked once and snapped back, following her suit.

"H-Hey! S-Sorry, miss! I didn't mean to! It just... Came out!" He spoke synchronizing with her steps across the moving stairs across the grand staircase. The paintings on the wall were looking at the two little wizards to-be walk higher and higher, the boy gesticulating with each every step, yet being ignored by the girl he was following, saying nothing, if you don't count some disapproving head shakes and muffled conversations. In the end, they reached to the seventh floor, thankfully for him since he was starting to suffer some vertigo, and the girl entered the corridor leading to a certain painting. "Please, talk to me! I didn't say it on purpose! Look, if you want to be even, we can always sort things out and...!"

" _Leo Regem_." She spoke, interrupting his pleas for forgiveness, and promptly, the portrait of the Fat Lady opened the entrance to the Gryffindor Common room. She took a step inside, and before the portrait could again seal the entrance to the common room, she turned her head around and gave him a side glance, her body still pointing away from him. Before he could reach her, she simply said. " **Pervert**."

"Like I said, it was an acciden-...!"

The portrait of the Fat Lady shut the entrance close with a loud *BAM!*, leaving the boy alone at the corridor leading to the Gryffindor Common Room. He tried to use his own Password to enter the common room, obviously to no avail, and even tried to bargain with the Fat Lady who; despite the lovely voice, still followed her duty as the guardian of the common room through and through. In the end, the boy had no way to contact the girl as for now, and this fact bugged him to no end. He stayed walking in circles for the next ten minutes, until the Fat Lady questioned him about his classes, which made him snap himself out. The portrait was right, he could always ask for forgiveness later, but he mustn't lose classes, specially in his wizardry school, his new home, apparently...

That little moment he had back in the seventh floor had its advantages, since no longer he suffered from the typical vertigo going downstairs. Once out of the Grand Stairase, he followed suit pass the dining hall, and took another corridor to another set of stairs down the dungeons. Despite thinking he'd never get used to them, he was surprised about how easy it was now to walk around that dimly lit, yet surprisingly warm and vivid place that were the dungeons. Moreover, his next class after lunchbreak was potions with Prof. Slughorn, so he still has time to organize his parchments, quills and wand for said class.

Going to the most isolated part of the place, he stood right in front of a seemingly dead end, only to sigh and speak the password, ' _Purity_ ', for the brick wall to magically move and open to the entrance to the Slytherin common room, the underground place of soft cushions and dark views of the Black Lake. A small smile spread across his face, mesmerized by all of that magic he won't ever get tired of, and so, he took the first step inside...

 **"And... Like this!"**

 _"Or... Like that!"_

"What...?!"

But before he could finally enter the Slytherin common room, his body suddenly felt attacked, and before his eyes, two bright spheres of lights hit him on the chest, knocking him off his stand and making him fall on his butt. The **knockback jinx,** a spell he learnt not so long ago by the minuscule but wise Prof. Flitwick, was used against him, and before he could stand up to see forward, by the voices, he already knew who casted such against him.

 **"Hahah! Look, Angie! Flipendo worked! Maybe Prof. Jumping-bean can be a good teacher after all!"** Sitting in one of the sofas spread across the common room, a girl was laughing with a hand covering her mouth, an identical image of herself sitting right next to her, also laughing seeing the boy stand up, a little dizzy by the suddenness and surprise of their attack.

 _"Ah! But who got it was the muggle-born **Maxwell** , Claudine! I'm still not convinced about the lectures of Prof. Garden-Decoration!"_ The other one laughed, the first sitting next to her sharing the laugh. The boy, Maxwell, could only give them a nervous, trembling smile, knowing that if he try anything, I could only get things worse. Instead, he walked in the common room, and politely bowed to them, seeing them now playing with a twirl of their respective silver hairs.

"G-Good afternoon, misses. Stones. I hope... You're ready for potion class." He said. The two, Claudine and Angie, looked at each other with a smile, then back at the boy who curved back, sighing. They green eyes met with his brown ones, and they shrugged at the same time, much more like a mirror would.

 _"Of course we're ready for Prof. Big-belly's class, doodoo-head Maxwell."_ One of the twins, Angie, said with a smile; followed by her twin image by her side. _"Isn't that right, Claudine?"_

 **"Yeah, or else he'll sit on us as punishment, right Angie?"** Maxwell mentally sighed for their harsh words against the professor who he was so fond of. I mean, not that he was that good in potions, he just follows what he's told, yet Prof. Horace Slughorn would always be pleased by his results, jovially praising his works. He thought it was just a think about being the current head professor of Slytherin, but apparently, he had a history about 'good students'. Angie nodded for her sister's statement, and they turned back at him, speaking in Unison.

 _ **" " How about you, Maxwell? Are you ready to be an insufferable know-it-all again? " "**_

"..." His face contorted into a half-smile. A painfully false, and quite painful as well, half-smile, full of nervousness and unsaid words. There is it again, silver tongue for slytherins, of course. The turned to each other and laughed at his reaction, standing from their seats, walking towards him only to put out their wands and aim at his neck.

 **"Hey, Angie. How about we jinx his vocal chords so he can speak no more?"** One of the twins said, making the boy gulp, which made him feel the point of their wands even closer. The other twin laughed, blinking her green eyes right next to him.

 _"Hey, Claudine. How about we curse him so that he can only speak like a toddler?"_ The other twin said. Another gulp, another poke of their wands on his throat. Despite their current situation, they could only hum in unison, making small traces on the skin of his neck, and smiling all the way. After a minute or two, one of them hummed out loud. _"But then again, it's because of the house points he earns for us, we can mess with people all we want and still be on the lead. Right; Claudine?"_

 **"Oh right, Angie. Maxwell is such a show-off, he can gain more house points than we can lose them. He's such a good boy, working so hard for us."** The other twin opened a genuine smile, and his only response was to laugh nervously. Again, words left unsaid regarding that poisonous talk, with nothing Maxwell could do to defend himself. In the end, both nodded and smiled to each other, then turned to him, still smiling, smiles Maxwell couldn't love, nor hate. He was afraid of them. **"We should reward him, right Angie?"**

 _"Right, Claudine."_ And then, they discarded their wands to instead **peck** him on each cheek, making his already pink ears almost fulminate. The Stones sisters loves to bully him, and he doesn't like any bit of it, but still, they were girls, and for an 11-year old, being kissed like that was a little too much for him. After the double kissing, each sister took a step forward to right to each side of the boy, and whispered on his each, in perfect synch...

 _ **" " Earn more house points for us, okay? If not, we'll curse you~! " "**_

And walking pass him and holding hands behind his back, the twin sisters left the common room, leaving a petrified Maxwell in the middle of said room. Fortunately, Prof. Neville doesn't need to spare some mandrakes now since it took him a few seconds to recover, panting heavily under his breath, and looking around so he was sure the Stones twins weren't there anymore. He could finally breath normally, he could finally move.

This kind of thing has been happening ever since they arrived at Hogwarts, the twins developing a strange, creepy affection for the said 'muggle-born', apparently a term used for students whose parents aren't wizards, or 'muggles'. They would jinx and hex anybody with any spell they learn, including him for the first days of classes, yet after he started earning some house points for Slytherin, their only treatment for him now was a light binding magic, and threats that would never follow. Still, the cold mahogany rubbing on his neck and their words crawling inside his ears like centipedes from the black forest, sometimes he wishes they treat him like everybody else. To be cursed for not winning house points 'for them', it feels like hanging from the loose line.

It took him the bell ringing to help him realize that classes were about to start. He shook his head a little to get rid of such uneasy feelings and followed suit to the boys' dormitory. Since everybody would probably still be at the main dinning hall, he had enough time to pick up his things without bumping into anyone in the way out. He rushed for the dormitory for the first years, and once there, he opened the trunk reading ' _Maxwell Hephaestus Argento_ ' to organize his things in there. His hat uniform, which was hard to balance on his unruly brown hair; his quill; ink, some pieces of parchment; his copy of Basic potion making and some ingredients stored in glass bottles wrapped in a piece of leather.

"There, I guess this should do it." He laughed a little to himself, picking up his things to wrap them around as neatly as possible. Of course, he couldn't forget his wand, that beautiful piece of simple pine wood with dragon heartstring as core according to Mr. Ollivanders **(were dragons really real, even by wizard standards? He'd love to see one!)** , reaching around 9 inches. Maxwell hid said wand under his robe, and picked his things to head off to potions class. The brick wall noticed his presence and opened itself for him, much for his delight for such magical effect, and so, he walked away of the common room, only to stop on his track...

Flowy blond hair, bright blue eyes, almost shining through the dimly lit corridors of the dungeons. There she was, the girl from before, walking through the path of rock and fire, her feet making a hard, dry sound that would echo across the place. Just like him, she was carrying a small set of items, all neatly arranged on her arms, and right behind her, a small group of other girls was following suit, an olive-skinned brunette standing right next to the blonde, looking around as they were still strange to the environment. Even older students from Slytherin were mesmerized by her standing, opening space for her to walk through.

Before he could do anything, she notice him from the corner of her eyes, and they stares met. He flinched, almost dropping his material, blushing until the last string of his hair, and unnoticed by all the other girls, she frowned. Maxwell saw no more of her blue orbs, since he hid behind the pillar of the pathway to his common room, and the only thing he heard was the sound of a door opening, and steps, lots of steps. When they started to die off was the time he dared a glance back, only noticing the closing door which lead to Prof. Slughorn's classroom. He sighed in realization: apparently, he would have that same class with that girl for the rest of the year now. So his concentration to his favorite teacher would drop immensely...

"But... Maybe it's also a good opportunity to apologize." He snapped his fingers, a small smile crossing his lips. Huh, maybe there was something good about this now. I mean, of course he wouldn't interrupt class just to talk about their small incident, but at least he had the opportunity to learn her name, and maybe get to talk to her a little to sort things out. I would still be awkward, but it was like that how you get to know new people... Right? It wasn't much, but said resolution actually made him smile a little bit. He took a deep breath, inhale, exhale, and turned around to walk to class. However; with the first step, came down a sting a pain. His right hand twitched, making him drop all of his school stuff, but soon enough the pain subdued, much for his surprise. "Hah? What the...?"

He rubbed the affected area in an attempt to find the source of that small ting of discomfort, but strangely enough, it was just that: a quick sting of pain. Still not convinced, the boy lifted the right sleeve of his robes up to the elbow, and in another surprising sight, he saw a small red mark on his arm. It wasn't there before, and he was sure he didn't bump into anything that could possibly made that thing, which consisted in four lines forming something like a deranged 'R' letter. It was also livid red, crimson, yet when he poked it, it didn't hurt at all, it looked more like a scar or a tattoo than a wound. How strange, he was sure that he didn't notice that before...

He snapped out from his stupor when he heard marching; and right across the other side of the dungeons, other Slytherin students began to walk towards him! Before the band of students could stomping him or his things, Maxwell picked his material and hid by the opposite side of the common room, which flooded with students entering for themselves pick their own school stuff. Fortunately, they didn't notice him, and so, they passed smoothly through the corridor, going for their own classes. Once the area was clean, Maxwell took another deep breath, and walked towards Prof. Slughorn's classroom, not wanting to lose anything; including his chance to talk with that girl...

Unknown to him, Hogwarts has been afflicted by a new threat...

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 **Kahahah, so much for an intro, right? I dunno, maybe my style of writing doesn't match the 'come of the age' kind of story that harry potter began as, but I'll try my best to flesh out the characters a little bit, even if the story begins like that. I hope you all enjoyed this small story of mine and hope for the next chapter. I'm hoping. As always, R &R, cuz feedback is always good.**

 **Greetings~.**

 **P.S.: A small trivia: The names aren't in random. In fact, they're shout-outs. Tell me if you can figure of what!**


	2. Careless whispers on Hogwarts

**Hello, HP fandom. Here I am trying my best to write a good story. I hope ytou all like. Yay, Yoohooo, I guess. I'll try my best!**

 **Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. JK Rowling knows where we live. Don't question her authority.**

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"Very well, class! Now, who can tell me at least one of the three main ingredients for a _Forgetfulness Potion_?"

 **"Oh! Me, me!"**

"Yes, miss Stones?"

 **"Is it love? Because here, love is everything, isn't that right, Angie?"**

 _"Right, Claudine!"_

"Uuuuh~, no miss Stones. Love is not one of the ingredients for a Forgetfulness potion."

 _"Then is it a naked picture of you, Prof. Slughorn? 'Cuz I would want to forget that! Right, Claudine?"_

 **"Right, Angie."**

"By Merlin's Bear-... 10 points from Slytherin for that, ms. Stones! Now, does anyone knows at least one of the three crucial ingredients for a forgetfulness potion?"

"I-I do, Prof. Slughorn." And Slughorn's tired face suddenly brightened up a bit seeing a very promising student lifting his hand, unfortunately sandwiched between the two trouble-makers from before. Maxwell shyly put his hand down once the professor's attention was caught, then cleaned his throat. "Well... At least according to the newest edition of 'Magical Drafts and Potions', the three most crucial ingredients for a Forgetfulness potions includes _mistletoe berries_ , drops of water from _Lether river_ and _Valerian sprigs_... Oh sorry, it was just one, right?"

"Excellent work, mr. Argento, and for that, 10 points for Slytherin!" Slughorn said running a hand on his balding head as some students clapped and others groaned. Maxwell didn't like such attention, but he was getting it anyway, specially from the twins, who kissed him on the cheek each, making his ears turn pink. "As Mr. Argento said, the crucial ingredients for a Forgetfulness potion are mistletoe berries, Lether river Water and Valerian sprigs, some of which can be found on the cupboards over there. With that in mind, for today's lesson, I want you to brew the first part of such potion, and considering it doesn't melt your cauldrons or explode in them." - Prof. Slughorn then shot a quick stare at the Stones twins, who giggle while looking at each other. - "Fill up a vial with the resulting solution and leave it on my desk with a piece of parchment with your observations, ingredients and steps used. You may commence. Also, be careful with the _Venomous Tentacula_... It was really hard to find a seedling of it!"

 _"Hey, Maxwell."_ The young boy felt a light tug on the brink of his left sleeve, making him turn around and stare back at Angie Stones and her bright green eyes, a mischievous smile drawn on her lips. _"Prof. Slime-horn did remember that time we turned our cauldrons into molten iron, doesn't he? Eh?"_

 **"And Prof. Slug-antenna also remembers how we turned that solution for common cough into a solution for common boom!"** He felt another tug on his right sleeve, and Claudine Stones was staring back at him with a mirrored version of her sister's smile. **"Maybe he's just losing hair, not just losing brain-cells. Eh?"**

"Uh... Uh-huh, I guess." He forced another painful half-smile. Everybody was already lining up to reach the ingredients listed on _Magical Drafts and Potions_ , right next to the pot with the minuscule, apparently harmless Venomous Tentacula; yet he was still stuck between the twins. "Misses Stones, would you... Would you kindly let me get my ingredients, please?"

 **"Oh-hooh? Giving us orders? That's so mean; right Angie?"** And without anybody noticing, the twin on the right drawn her wand and pointed at him, making the boy shiver a little more, even more when she laughed while her sister did the same.

 _"Right, Claudine. You're a mean person, Maxwell. But we like you a lot. Just don't forget to never order us around. M'kay?"_

"Y-Yeah, I... I understand..." He moaned, really ready to explode from embarrassment and pent-up nervousness, but fortunately the sisters let go of him to them walk towards the said cupboards of ingredients, talking about making a potion that would instead smell like farts or who could make the loudest and greatest explosion. He sighed again, both relieved and worried. They would never stop, as long as they were ingredients and an uninterested Prof. Slughorn around, they would never stop. It took him a few seconds to realize that the time was still running, so he was quick to discard his little black hat and try to pick the listed ingredients...

The line of students in front of the ingredients had diminished considerably, so it was easier for Maxwell to reach some of them, although the vines of the plant under it was making the task rather harder, even as just seedlings, a Venomous Tentacula was still a Venomous Tentacula. He picked the vials of Valerian sprigs and Lether river drops, and for the Mistletoe berries, there was two small jars for it. He tried to reach for them; but if he was about to pick it up, he hand touch a soft surface. On another blink, he noticed he was touching another hand...

"Ah, sorry! I didn't mean t-..." He opened a half-smile to apologize, but dropped such façade when he noticed who was the one he faced. The blond hair, the blue eyes, the pale complex, there she was, the girl from the accident! She blinked once again once they locked eyes, then frowned, slipping her hand to the cupboard to reach for the berries on the jar. His mind took two seconds to proceed that sequence of events, and then he gasped, blinking to the turn his eyes back to the back of her head. "U-Uuh~...! Hey...!"

" **Pervert**." Gah! And the freezes again hearing that same silky-soft voice reach his ear with that word! Even the half-smile he tried to make faltered in the most depressing way possible. In that moment of silence, she turned her head halfway around, giving him a side glance, and he could feel the air around the dungeons grow colder, which he thought it was impossible. She turned her head back and walked towards her own table, but not before saying a mutter only he heard. "Stay away from me."

Maxwell had no reaction for that. Now a classmate of his hates his guts, and if he should wimp, lament, sorrow or simply cry because of that, he doesn't know. In the end, air entered and exited his body with a long, deep breath as he promised himself to find a new opportunity to apologize. Better finish his assignment before he receives a low grade, so he turned around to reach for the last jar of Mistletoe berries...

"Shotgun!" But when he was about to reach for them, a quick smoke of black cut his vision, and then the jar was no more. He blinked once, and turned his orbs to the only one close enough to have caught it: another girl he recognized as a Gryffindor, that same olive-skinned girl from before, which the small jar of berries at hand. She stared back at him with surprise, then back to the berries, and in realization, she grinned and looked back at him. "So'y, mate. Looks like yer outta luck."

And then she dashed towards the seat next to the blond girl, leaving the boy alone next to the cupboards, looking at the empty shelfs and the little plant. He sighs, head low. Today has not being his day. Oh well, maybe he could borrow at least one from his classmates and maybe at least make a decent Forgetfulness potion. Would it be too much of a stretch to say that he... Forgot about it?

Yes, of course it would.

 _"Maxwell is not so hot now, eh Claudine?"_ Going back to his seat, Maxwell was so salty greeted by the twin on his left who was now mixing dozens and dozens of different ingredients and powders, making her cauldron shine to different colours for every second. "What's the matter? Did you forgot your toilet paper made out of book pages?"

 **"Or he forgot to eat his milk porridge and letter soup, eh Angie?"** The twin on the right said, and from both came a lot of laughter, and then something that looked like a green slug suddenly crawled away from Claudine's cauldron. Rejoice from both again. But then oh wouldn't react much, forcing the one in the right to poke him on the neck with her mahogany wand, the unicorn tail hair coming from the tip slightly tickling his skin there. **"Eeeeh~? What's the matter, Max? We're trying to make you laugh~? Why can't you laugh~?"**

" _Yeah, Maxwell~? We know you're broken in the laughing organ, but make an effort for us~."_ Angie said; also scratching her wand on his. Maxwell sighed.

"It's nothing; Misses Stones... It's just... I kinda didn't get mistletoe berries for the potion and..." Before he could finish his sentence, both twins handed him a pair of jars of mistletoe berries, making him yelp a little in surprise. What the... He took a quick glance at the label on them, and really, they were flasks of mistletoe berries. He did a double take at the twins and the jars. "E-Eh? How did you... Why do you guys... Why do you have so much? The instructions say the number for it is minimal..."

 _"We kinda got bored, so we're experimenting. Right Claudine?"_ One of the twins said with a smile. The other mirrored her twin's expression, using her finger to pick a small drop off her cauldron, a solution that was quick thick and heavy-looking, with the color of a deep yellow.

 **"Right, Angie. This, for example, is what happens when you mix crushed Mistletoe Berries with dragon blood and a bit of the fire charm."** And then the Claudine twin flicked that small drop off her fingers to a random direction, followed by a sonorous ***BUM!*** with a glimpse of a blinding light! It took it just a second, and the reactions were students cursing a word no 11-year should know with Prof. Slughorn's typical 'Merlin's Beard!'. Maxwell, who protected his eyes from such reaction, could only sigh for the twin's smiles. "Heheheh, there it goes, just like mama said it would."

"R-Right, well then..." He reached for the bottle of his so needed berries, and then the classes ran like any other, students mixing some predetermined ingredients into their cauldrons, with the exception of the Stones who would continue to make grosser and grosser solutions, as Prof. Slughorn would write some extra hints on the blackboard and help students whose cauldrons would incorrectly react.

Maxwell with his own exemplar of _Magical Drafts and Potions_ , flawlessly followed the rules and instructions on it for the first part, writing on a small piece of parchment when the solution would change colours or start to react with different steps. However, from time to time, the boy would turn his eyes to a certain blond by the other side of his table, who was almost mirroring his steps with the same rhythm and concentration, even dropping the same ingredients at the same time. Both their cauldrons reacted with a white smoke which for Maxwell smelled like mint, and then the girl filled her vial, wrapped her piece of parchment and without taking her eyes off her direction, gently placed her solution on Prof. Slughorn's desk, not minding a second glance at the chubby professor before leaving the dungeon.

He was so mesmerized by her, it took another explosion from Angie's cauldron for him to snap back to reality and pick his own solution and parchment. When he was about to stand up and also give his little report, someone bumped into him and made him drop his material, which unfortunately broke the vial the potion was stored. The culprit of such, another Gryffindor boy of brown smooth hair and green eyes and a strange scar on his face, didn't care about the incident since he was too busy scratching his arm and face, which strangely was covered in red-coloured dots tainting his otherwise fair skin, and being helped by another Gryffindor classmate of dark skin. Both reached Slughorn, who was using his wand to fix the small burn mark Angie's little experiment made on the floor.

"Professor Slughorn! **Sue** is not feeling well! I think it was the Venomous Tentacula!" The dark-skinned boy exclaimed to the professor, and unfortunately Maxwell couldn't do anything but chuckle under his hand. ,He wondered what kind of parents would name their boy child 'Sue'. Prof. Slughorn, on the other hand, turned to him with a disinterested, yet surprised hum, adjusting his glasses on the boy who couldn't stop scratching.

"I rather doubt that. If it were, then mr. **Silverstein** would be having more than a allergic reaction. If you excuse me..." Then Slughorn bend a little to face the student face to face, and blinking twice, he pointed his wand at Sue's face, saying an incantation which was low enough for Maxwell to hear. In the end, the brunette couldn't stop scratching. "Huh, it wasn't the _Venomous Tentacula_ nor that _Weasley's sick collection_. Maybe it's indeed something with the ingredients. Oh well, better take him to Madam Pomfrey's care, Alfred.'She'll know what to do."

"I-It's **Arnold** , sir." The boy, Arnold, said, taking his classmate away to outside the dungeons, while everyone would share small talk or, in the Twin's case, cruel gossip about the boy named Sue.

Maxwell however lost interest on the pair of boys once there were out of the dungeon, focusing on the broken vial and the spilled solution on the floor. He sighed looking at it, and pulled his wand out of his robes to point it to the broken glass. Still uncertainly, he mutters ' _Reparo_ ' and magically the pieces of glass reformed into a full unscathed vial, even the solution in it was recollected, landing softly on his palm. Maxwell sighs, magic sure is practical, but he feels like cheating for it, normal reaction for a muggle-born such as himself.

Picking his piece of parchment and the unbroken vial, the placed them on Slughorn's table with the others's, and left the dungeon followed by other students, including the twins. He again felt a sting of pain on his arm, but assumed as nothing. His next class is... **Defense against the dark arts** , a subject that he, for the lack of better wording, doesn't like.

Yeah, literally a lack of better wording, since his 11-year old mind couldn't think of stronger words for it.

 **"Hey Maxwell, have you finished our Werewolf bites Homework? If not, we'll curse you, right ,Angie?"** One of the twins, now on his left and locking her arms on one of his own, said with a happy smile and shining her green orbs at him, while the other mimicked her movements to do the same thing to his right arm.

 _"Right, Claudine! So Maxie, you were a gentleman and made our homework, didn't you? Otherwise, we'll be forced to curse you~."_ Angie said. It's not like they were actually going to curse him otherwise, but they asked in a tone which was so soft yet threatening, he couldn't say 'no'.

"A-Ah, yes. Here, I think I have it with me now." For it, Maxwell reached for his satchel and picked from inside two neatly wrapped pieces of parchment, which were rapidly stolen from his hand by two similar pale hands. Before he could say anything, the twins made a swift move with their legs to trip him on his front, and smoothly took the lead to the door out of the dungeons. Well, at least they have the assignment for themselves, and his own. He sighs and stands up from the ground, dusting his black robes and looking if anything wasn't missing, and fortunately it wasn't. "Phew..."

"What wasn't a smooth a'all." He flinches with the voice on his back, and jumped in place for the scare. Maxwell turned around in an alarmed tone, only to stare back at the golden-eyed, olive-skinned pretty girl he met a few moments prior, the one who snapped the Mistletoe berries away from him. She was smiling, yet her hands up in the air in a surrender pose. "Whoa, easy der, mate! Dun go startling me like dat!"

"Oh; its you. Sorry for the reaction." He lowered his head and bowed to her in apology. Her only response was to pat his head a few times, hammering her hand a few times on his scalp. He felt slightly less guilty but much more uncomfortable.

"No problem, mate Should've been more discreet, yes?" She spoke, scratching her chin while looking at him. After a second or two of silence, Maxwell was ready to leave and take his way to the third floor, but the lass again called for him with a light poke on his shoulder. He again flinched, and she again laughed. "Blimey, mate, wattsa damage? Nevah been poked by a lassie? By the wa', I saw those bloody twins pickin' on ya. Anyffin' you wanna share? Because ofda thin' with the berries, ya see."

"Oh, it's... Nothing. They mess with everybody, I'm not that special." He dismissed her small hand for help with a laugh. Truth to be told, he was the special one for the twins, but fortunately the 'good' type of special one. Since he would always earn house points faster than they could lose, avoiding any form of disapproval from everybody, their treatment of him was a little... Softer, with some 'special benefits' according to them. The lass in front of him put her hands on the hips of her uniform, tilting her head to a side.

"Well, if ya say so, mate. Hey! Ya want sum kadron kehks? I have sum wif me, an'I kinda feel bad 'bout the berries." She put her hands inside her robes and pulled from within at least three cauldron cakes, a wizard confectionary that Maxwell didn't like to admit he grew used to. The reason for that is, one of the 'special benefits' for being the special one of the Stones twins was receiving from them cauldron cakes and other types of candy as gifts. He gulped hard looking at the cakes, then waved his hand negatively, causing the girl to hum a curious one. "Wha? You don like them? What a bugger, I like them."

"I'm... Not hungry. I'm sorry." He said, really wanting to reach for the door exiting the dungeons, as the girl began to munch on her candies with a sour expression to him. He really, really didn't want to be rude, but he was running out of time. All he wanted was to take his way out of the lower floors, to the DADA classroom and write something about those scary creatures he never thought could exist. While the girl was still pouting for their neglected truce, Maxwell reached for his satchel and was already picking his exemplar of the Guide of Self-protection and walking away from her to...

...

He feels nothing.

"H-Huh...?" He exclaimed, blinking to then search for the book he thought he had stored in his satchel that morning. He doesn't understand, his book for DADA should've been stored since morning, like he always did, and the thinking of such error was starting to make him anxious. He searched and searched, but nothing except his quill, ink, some pieces of parchment, including his own homework, his diary and the book for History of Magic, but no Dark Arts: a guide to self-protection.

Then something ticks his brain:

He had **lost** his exemplar, he had lost it due to a prank. From the twins, no less.

The sole reason why he was walking on the Grand Staircase in the first place was to pick another exemplar from the library for his upcoming class, and he would've done it if it wasn't for that... Light-blue sight.

He blushed, his anxiety now replaced by shame and embarrassment. Even when no one was watching, he covered his burning face with the satchel, hoping no one would look at him weird, despite the fact no one was looking at him at all...

"Oy, mate. Wattza merah? Ya doin'alright der?" And he snapped back to reality with yet another poke on his shoulder. So miserably, yet with a weak smile on his face, he turned to the pretty girl still munching on Cauldron cakes, and tilted his head to a side, putting his satchel down to properly address her. "Like I said, ya wanna sum'thin for the berries, just ask."

"O-Oh, it's... Nothing, really." He said, putting his things back into his man purse and dusting his hand a little to get rid of the dust in them. Oh look at that, he should probably start taking care of his things to avoid nuisances like that. Maxwell put the strap back onto his shoulder, and turned to the lady besides him. He pouted shyly, yet crossed his arms, while her golden orbs were so-excitedly waiting for something to happen. Again with the half-smile, he offered her a hand. "Uuuuh~, I hope this isn't much of a bother, but... Would you happen to have an exemplar of the DADA book? I kinda lost mine..."

"Oh, m'kay! Heyah!" Too fast! Maxwell couldn't even blink when she pulled out of robes a black book. He examined it and, really, it was indeed an exemplar of Dark Arts: A guide to self-protection. He blinked a few times, his hands hovering around the book, and he only moved back when she let go of it for a split second, his fingers picking the book in midair and tightly clutching its cover. He heard a chuckle again, this time walking right past him. "There, mate. 'Guess this should be nuff for dah berries. Weeyah even now! See ya leetah!"

"W-Wait! Really?!" He said, turning around to face the back of the head of the girl, the book still locked in between his fingers. The girl turned her head around and gave him a side glance, still munching on cauldron cakes. "I mean... Giving me a book so easily... And I didn't even do a thing... It feels wrong."

"Chill out, mate. Gimme back bah dinnah or sum'thin. No worries, weeyah even now, so yeah! Have a nayss class!" She said, turning back to the exit of the dungeons waving a goodbye. In the middle of the corridor, tightly holding the borrowed book on his hands, he feels at the same time relieved yet embarrassed, holding his breath to coup with that feeling. She said it was a trade, so he couldn't say anything against it. Maxwell could only sigh, and store the book he just got in his purse, taking a small look inside the pages to see if there was anything that marks it at hers. Inside the cover, he saw a name...

 _'Property of **Eleanor Rigby** '_

Eleanor Rigby, so that was her name. He'll make sure to remember and properly thank her for the... 'Trade'. With that problem out of the way, he took his way out of the dungeons, up to the main lobby and up to the Grand Staircase. The corridors were flooding with students, but Maxwell easily passed through them by sticking to a wall and walking his way to the door, even if sometimes he'd bump into a frame of one of the paintings on the wall and be yelled at for it, not by other students, prefects or the grumpy Mr. Filtch, but by the paintings themselves, who were for some reason alive. Just magic, probably.

After a few seconds or two, the boy finally reached the Grand Staircase, hearing the echoing sound of the moving stairs colliding with the edges of each floor, a sight he wondered he would ever grow tired of. Shaking his head to get rid of such view, he walked upstairs up to the third floor, and passing around some other meddling classmates, he finally reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Again an uneasy painful half-smile was drawn in his face in anticipation, as he reached for the knob and entered the room. He might not like DADA that much, but it's a class he has to attend, unfortunately. Knowing that dark creatures and dark wizards really exists is a... Frightening subject to learn.

"Hello~, sorry for my lateness, Prof. Fleetw-...!" He said, but was taken back by the utter darkness that was the classroom. Not a single source of light was visible inside the room, only small mutters and small balls of light illuminating the place for only a few seconds. He took a deep breath, and slowly tried to reach for the door, but then it was shut down with a loud *BAM!* before he could escape! Oh no, what was happening? Did the professor release a mystical beast inside the classroom like he said it would one day? Maxwell couldn't do a thing, only reach for his wand and point inside the darkness. "Ah... _Lumos_! L- _Lumos Maxima_!"

The incantation. Blinding light. Maxwell's eyes were caught unguarded by the intense white flash coming from the tip of his wand, which for a moment illuminated the whole classroom. His eyes saw a glimpse of the classroom, the skeleton suspended by the ceiling, the shut windows and some of his classmates, all wide-eyed looking at him, before his body reacting and letting go of his wand, which made a light flicking sound once hitting the floor and extinguishing the light, covering the class back into total darkness.

Amidst the total black scenery, Maxwell heard giggles, mutters and surprised hums, but nothing with enough context for him to put himself together, so he could only touch the ground looking for his missing wand, the wish to get back in action as fast as possible. Suddenly, a flash of light cut through the darkness revealing part of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, although by Maxwell's side, he was still lost in the black part, as one of the windows magically opened to let the light in. After that, one by one the windows began to open, revealing them more and more of the classroom, including the desks, the blackboard, the weird-locked tables, and the students who were all standing up, wands drawn. Was when the final window opened that the raven-haired boy could see his wand resting on the ground. Unfortunately and for his own embarrassment, said wand was also by the feet of the DADA professor, **Mac Fleetwood**.

Wearing his typical black boots and the equally dark robes which made him look like a tridimensional shadow, the professor stared from his tall standing the boy on the ground who was tapping his hands on it from his previous quest in finding his wand, who immediately stopped once spotted. A moment of silence for their small staring showdown, Maxwell feeling his ears grow hot and red, and the master chuckled, picking the wand on the floor to offer it to the young wizard. Quickly as he could, Maxwell stood up and took the wand, storing back inside his robes.

"Very well class. As you could all see from Mr. Argento's demonstration, the Wand-lighting charm, or _Lumos_ , might be the simplest of spells, but it is also a fundamental one for basic defense against the dark arts. After all, what's the best way to defend yourself against darkness if not by producing some light?" Prof. Fleetwood said with a chuckle, turning around to walk back to his table and writing the name of the spell on the blackboard, turning around back to the class and smiling after taking a sip on a golden goblet on his desk. His black eyes then arrowed the boy. "Doesn't mean I'll excuse lateness in my classroom, Mr. Argento. Please keep that in mind. I guess taking nor giving House Points would be the proper response to both of your actions, don't you think?"

"A-Ah! Yes, Professor! I'm... Sorry." Said back the brunette, soon joining his fellow classmates in the class, sitting next to one of the twins. Prof. Fleetwood chuckled again, and pointed his wand to the sky, sparkling small particles of red light from the tip, to the amazement of some, Maxwell included. After a second or two, he shot his wand backwards, then pointed at the ceiling with the same intensity, and from his wand again, a red ball of light emerged and ascended to it, then exploding in several other sparkles of the same tone. Again much amazement from some students.

"See? There's much to lighting spells than just pretty lights for some basic tricks. If correctly used and properly designed and signed, it can save you from a tight spot. I won't recommend using them as a way to show-off, though, given their simplicity." The professor lightly pointed his eyes towards the late student, and everyone except one laugh it off. Taking another sip from his golden goblet, the professor took a deep breath and picked the book on his desk. "Now, I want you to open your books at page 39 so we can talk about zombies, ghouls and Gytrashes, some creatures the _Lumos_ charm can be used against..."

And despite his lateness, the class ran smoothly for Maxwell, who more and more would grow uncomfortable reading about ghosts, ghouls, zombies and all those scary things the magical world was showing him it was real, all while practicing the Lumos charm over and over again, being one of the few who could hold its light for more than a few seconds. The other one, sitting next to him; was Rosa Lee, a Ravenclaw girl of smooth black hair and bespectacled grey eyes. She seemed smart enough, well-studied too if her thick glass lenses were any indication. For that little moment of curiosity, they changed stares, and she gave him a half-smug grin, which he responded with a nervous smile. Time flew over the class, and soon enough, the was a ring indicating the end of the period...

"Oh, is it time already? Well, can't argue with old McGonagall. Class dismissed for now, and as homework I'd like an essay of the Wand-lighting charm, it's variations and similar spells and examples of creatures it can be used against. Minimum of 4 inches of parchment." Concluded the professor, making the whole class groan. For this, Mac Fleetwood could only chuckle and shrug on his position. "Sorry, kids. It's out of my hand. And don't forget the assignment about lycanthropic bites and how to deal with them from last time. Please put them on my desk with your name written on it."

"Thank goodness is over." Sighed Maxwell, picking from his satchel his werewolf assignment and writing his name on the cover. The Stones sisters passed right next to him and, after another kiss on the cheek each, they placed 'their' own pieces of parchment on the professor's desk and waved a goodbye to him. He again took a deep breath, and walked his way all the way to the main desk to give his own assignment. Before he could walk his way to the main hall for dinner time, he saw Prof. Fleetwood silently call for him with his hand, making the boy turn around. "Uh~... Yeah, Prof. Fleetwood?"

"Mr. Argento, I can see that you're highly... Appreciated by Misses Stones, I presume." The professor said sitting on his desk, which couldn't hide the fact he was exceptionally tall, making the boy in front of him blush and scratch his cheek in embarrassment. Oh boy, what now? "Which would be fine by me, after all, you Are a healthy boy, and they Are healthy girls, I presume. But here's the thing: don't you think their influence might... Affect you negatively?"

"..." Another half-smile, this one probably the most painful to date. A cold sweat ran his face and his eye couldn't stop twitching? What now? He would probably be punished if Prof. Fleetwood discovers, but even so, better dodge as hard as he can. Maxwell comforted his face to a most innocent smile he could. "What... Are you talking about, Prof. Fleetwood?"

"I'm talking about their record in detention, losing house points and the fact that, for some reason, you and them have identical handwriting. You might have different views on doxies and gnomes, but the handwriting is alarmingly similar." For some reason, the smile on the Professor's face turned somber, almost too somber even for a walking shadow such as himself. But Maxwell's pitiful smile didn't faulted one bit. He stood up from his seat and still with that smile, came closer to the boy, asking with his cold voice: "Anything you want to talk about, Maxwell?"

"..."

"..."

" **No, sir**." Quick and dry, that was his answer, nothing more nor less. For the first time, the expression on Fleetwood's face softened and lowered, and he sighed in apparent defeat. Nothing being said or done, he simply stored the many parchments into his desk and nodded.

"Very well then, Mr. Argento, you're dismissed. Don't want to lose dinner with your friends, right?" And he shined another smile, but for that Maxwell simply tilted his head to a side before turning around and walking towards the exit.

What was that about? Maybe Prof. Fleetwood wanted to talk about something instead, but nothing concrete came from both sides, and honestly, Maxwell felt a little nervous for being accused of something, whatever Fleetwood wanted to say or do. Even with all the magic in the air, he just wanted a quiet school live without bringing problem to anyone, being a good student and not cause any trouble. And honestly? Despite their treatment to him, being rewarded with kisses from the Stones twins was not a bad idea, he even liked a little bit. Still, he could feel something on the back of his neck blowing a cold breath on it, together with a small ting of pain on his right arm, and that made him uncomfortable. Hogwarts was... A frightening place. And his bad feeling couldn't get any worse than when he reached the Grand Staircase and a sensation of Vertigo started to come back to him again.

"Ah! Oy, mate!" He snapped back from his stupor when he heard a known loud voice say those exact words. A small peek from a side, and his cheeks immediately turned bright red by the sight of the olive-skinned girl, Eleanor Rigby, waving at him from one of the moving stairs. However, it wasn't just because of her sight that made the boy react like that, no, it was also the one next to her: that same dark blue eyes and golden blond hair from before, that at the same time mesmerized and terrified him. Now that they locked eyes, there is no turning back. He didn't even have the time to react since once the stairs locked into a floor, Eleanor and the other girl also descended to meet him. "Gon'foh dinnah? Us too! Wat'bout we go togedah?"

"Uh... uh... Sure." He mumbled, and she smiled, while the girl who stayed in the background gave him a quick but sharp look. Maxwell snapped, and soon reached for his satchel, picking from it Eleanor's exemplar of Guide to Self-Protection and handing it to her. "Oh, and here! I'm very thankful for the book! I... I'm in debt with you, Miss Rigby."

"C'mon now, mate. No need dat formality! Juzz call me Nora! Evbory calls me Nora!" She so cheerfully said, picking her book to put it under her robe and pinching one of his cheeks. Again with the abuse on his cheek, again coming from a girl, but for some reason, it didn't hurt as much. "Si, Lucy?! Ain't he juz kyut?"

"Indeed, I guess, maybe?" She muttered between shoulders, and softly landed her blue eyes on him. Maxwell froze; her calmed stare for some reason being even colder than her narrowed one. It was subtle, but there was something even more intense in her downgraded stare. Fortunately, Eleanor was quick enough to break the tension between the two.

"Buhdah'way, I dun fink I gotcha name. What was it agen?" She asked, and taking a few steps back, Maxwell nodded and bowed.

"Huuuh... It's Argento. **Maxwell Hephaestus Argento**. It's a bit of a mouthful, really." He half-smiled, while he could see something of a shine coming from Eleanor's eyes. Not so much from the other girl, apparently Lucy, but she seemed surprised about it too, even in a smaller degree. Maxwell bit his tongue, and returned the question. "I read from the cover of the book, your name is... Ms. **Eleanor Rigby** , right?"

"Oh mate, dun'bee uptight! Call me Nora!" She smiled with yet another violent pat on his shoulder, this one being a little more forceful to the point of pain, yet he continued to halfheartedly smile. When she was done, she then pointed at the one next to her. "I'll call yah Max, den. An this pretty lassie heyah is... Lucy."

" **Lucille Cielo Adams** , people call me **Lucy**. Nice to meet you." And then, warmth. For the first time, she let her guard down, and flashed him a quick smile, a smile that wasn't hostile or sardonic, yet he felt vulnerable. Soon enough, before Eleanor could turn back to her, the neutral expression came back. Maxwell also snapped back when Eleanor turned back to him.

"Uh... Yes! Nice... Nice to meet you too!" He said with now a nervous, but complete smile. Maybe she forgave him about the incident from lunchtime, or maybe she really forgot about it. But anyway, Maxwell nodded for her and stretched his hand for a handshake, a trembling handshake since he couldn't stop his nervous shake.

"..." However, she could only stare at his hand for a few seconds and sigh, instead walking right pass him downstairs for the main hall. It took him a few seconds to also realize he was holding his hand with no one, and sighed if off. He was wrong, apparently she was still mad for what happened after lunchtime. Instead, what came was a swift slap from Eleanor.

"Heyah, dun take it too har', Max. Lucy's moor offa kewl byooti. She juz lie'dat to be kewl. She'll soft it up once she knows ya bettah!" Eleanor said again with another friendly yet painful pat on the back, and Maxwell could only get along and pass down as he didn't have a clue for the cold shoulder, fortunately apparently disguised as her typical behavior. However, when he looked at her again descending the stairs, from the corner of her eye, that cold stare yet again.

"I... I hope so." Honestly, he really does, even if it takes some time for time. Turning back to his friendlier classmate, he bowed yet again. "Thank you for the book again. I really appreciate your help, miss Rigby."

"Liek I sed, no prob', Max! Ya can call me Nora; too! Weyah friends now, eh!" She enthusiastically said, making the boy chuckle from behind his sleeve.

"Right... Miss Nora." He smiled, and she laughed out loud, also calling the attention of other classmates and even some of the paintings on the wall. She was quite sonorous, but had a good heart for his standards. Even so, he bowed again. "But... Of there's anything you'd want as a form of compensation, because I don't think the berries would be enough for it."

"Insistent, ain'tcha? Gurz dun like dat inna man, y'know." She pouted, and he half-smiled in embarrassment. Eleanor then made a questioning face with a finger on her chin, her head slightly tilting to a side. After a few seconds, she snapped her fingers. "But, if compensation iz whatcha'want, treat me kadron kehks and turkey, plus ennaffin more! I heard sum nitpicks ar exclusiff fo'sum tables!"

"Of course. I heard the Slytherin tables serves lemon tarts as dessert, and I don't think there is other table with orange zest pies. I think I can..."

Their conversation however was cut short. A scream, a shriek, was heard, scratching the once peaceful atmosphere of Hogwarts castle, and almost ripping Maxwell's soul apart when reached his ears. Even with such deranged tone and effect, there was also something human behind it, so one could only assume it came from a student. There was something wrong happening down below, and Maxwell could only think of one thing: the twins causing trouble again... Or something far worse.

"Oh-hoh?! Wawazz dat?! Sunds wicket! Shotgun!" But before he could think of anything else, Eleanor pushed him out of the way and followed the direction of the scream, an expression of pure excitement and curiosity on her face. Maxwell recovered from the shock and followed her soon after down the stairs.

"A-Ah! Wait, Miss Rig-... Nora!" He said, following her suit. What was that about? Why would someone go head first into something as dangerous as that? Maybe it were just the Twins playing a prank again, but he couldn't let a girl walk into danger like that! Specially if them are involved...

The scream came from the first floor, so the duo rapidly reached the lower floor. While at it, Maxwell could ear marching steps getting closer and closer, and concluded that they were not the only ones who heard it apparently. Even so, he didn't lose track of Eleanor; and followed her shadow crossing the corridors of said floor. When he laid his foot on said floor, however, ***Splash, splash!*** , he heard the slippery sound of steps on water, and noticed that it were his. For some reason, the floor was flooded, at least an inch of water above it. Maxwell sighed with a roll of eyes, the twins probably exploded another toilet again...

At least Maxwell was relieved, judging by the reaction and situation, it was just a little prank on the bathroom, but even so, he needs to confirm that at least Eleanor will not fall for the twins' hijinks. After all, he was also one of the few who caught them doing pranks, and look at it now. Following further ink the corridor, feeling the uncomfortable sensation of wet socks and shoes, the boy sighed in relief when he saw a shadow by the end of the corridor, and then even more when he noticed the silhouette of fellow classmate Eleanor. He just hopes it's not too late to at least talk out of problems...

"Miss Nora, please don't go around running like that! You know that sometimes..." He started, but never finished. When he turned around the corner of the corridor, he didn't see just Eleanor...

The floor has flooded with water coming from an unknown source, yet he wasn't alone with Eleanor there. Oh no, there were two more elements in that corridor that, to his surprise, weren't the twins: the first was a girl around his age of pure white hair and black eyes, trembling like a scared cat on the floor, all of her clothes moist indicating that what happened made her fall on the ground. The way she was hiccuping could only say that she wanted to say nothing, yet nothing was coming out, only the expression of pure horror and shock remained. Maxwell deduced the shriek from before came from her, and looking forward, he soon discovered why.

On the cold and wet floor, laid another immobile student, only this time really _paralized_ , a brown haired young boy, one or two years older than Maxwell. His eyes were so dilated they turned pitch black, and his frozen state was only screaming pure yet silent terror and dread despite some bandages wrapped on his face. He wasn't moving at all despite the shocked expression on his face and hands positioned in a way that indicated he was trying to protect himself against something. He looked more like a statue, a horrifying and melancholic statue. Just by looking at it, the muggle-born started to hyperventilate, looking around, searching for something that could pin him to reality, that such event was just a bad dream or a hallucination, but no, the cold wind and rough walls were lying: that was reality. Eleanor, equally as shocked if not more, was the first to move closer to the... Body on the floor, drawing her wand from under her robes, and see any signs about the boy's condition...

"Oy, Ainnou diz bloke. **Desmond Jones**! Hiz from me house!" She declared, yet didn't assure Maxwell of anything, just a small hope for another joke gone wrong. Eleanor bent her body to see over the boy on the floor and examine him, shook her wand on him and muttered words that Maxwell couldn't hear, or didn't hear due to the shock on the moment, silently praying that just a cruel and sick prank, and everything was okay. But incantation after another, yet nothing. For the first time, the smile on Eleanor's face disappeared, a somber expression taking over instead, and she turned around to look at her fellow students above her shoulder, with trembling lips and cold sweat running her face. "Oy, no joke... I think he _dead_."

And Maxwell doesn't remember much after that, he couldn't take it. He only remembers another scream coming from the girl on the floor, steps that were getting closer and closer, and then the sound of something heavy hitting the cold and wet ground, follow by a roughness of the cold, hard floor. After that, he couldn't remember, the world grew darker and quieter, until he was staring into a void, a quiet, deep and suffocating void, lost into the blackness...

And then... The rest was silence.

* * *

 **BAM! And like that, we got our first mystery, Fellas. What is happening again in Hoigwarts school? Is it the story of another harry potter, or the mystery is actually fasr biger than it? Probbaly not, what I'll try to maintain it interesting even so. Characters I'll also try to develop better, but if I'm doing anything wrong, please leave a review or a pm for me to improve myself, even more Since this story is my introduction to the fandom.**

 **Also, if asked, I'll stop the twins speeching pattern. I think its charming, but i'll stop if said otherwise. Happy face on it. :)**


	3. The chamber of secrets

**Happy 20th annyversary to you, HP fandom~! I just started this story, but unfortunately got a writer's block and couldn't finish this chapter in time for the celebration of your favorite wizard. But I hope you're all doing fine as for now! I know it''s just a start for my story, but I hope I can still write this for the celebrations to come, and I'm happy to join you all. So again, happy 20th annyversary for thou!**

 **As always, Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. No joke for the 20th annivesary now~.**

* * *

 _'My name is professor Flitwick, and I'm here to say that you kid one a special one, indeed. He has shown potential for magic, and as such, he's chosen to attend Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and wizardry.'_

 _'I already knew he was strange for some reason... Very well, professor Flitwick, you're allowed to take him.'_

 _'Make sure to stay in line, right Maxwell? Follow the rules and maybe you'll be fine in this new school.'_

 _'Mama, papa, I'm sorry...'_

 _'Do not be sorry, Maxwell. It was only natural.'_

 _'You are indeed... A strange one, Maxwell.'_

 _..._

"Ugh... What...?" Light. Suddenly, light. The headache was gone, he could feel his fingers again, and he feels light for some reason. After what he thought it was a nightmare, Maxwell slowly opened his eyes which were getting used to the luminosity and saw himself facing an unfamiliar ceiling. He blinked once, twice, black balls still covering his vision, and only then had the forces to stand sit on what he noticed it was a bed.

His eyes scanned around the new place where he rested. Lines of hospital beds next to parallel walls, chairs, rolling curtains and supporters all over the place, and a familiar smell of something sweet, something bitter and something quite fresh, but not in a good way. He deduced he was in Hogwarts' hospital wing, and judging by the nearby students which would moan and groan in pain, he was kinda right. The light coming from the windows, the powerful shine of the sun, indicated that apparently he slept through the whole night.

" _Hey look, Claudine. Doodoo-head Maxwell just woke up."_ He heard from not far away, and turning his head, he saw the Stones twins, munching on Bertie Bott's Every flavour beans, sitting next to each and staring back at him. He flinched a little with the scare, but soon enough he calmed down, hand on his own heart.

 **"I see, Angie. Know-it-all Maxwell fainted like a maiden. What a joke."** They shared a laugh, and Maxwell opened a shy smile. So that wasn't a dream, he really fainted that night. Could you blame him? Seeing such horrific imagery at such young age was too much for him, and just thinking about it was making his head spin a little. Both twins then put in front of him a bitten bean each, and pointed one each as well. **"Here: this one tastes like Chicken soup, and this one tastes like lemon tart. Angie and I picked those just for you."**

 ** _" "So don't go wasting those, you dummy." "_** Both sisters stuck both their tongues out showing a myriad of colours on them, proof that they've been eating a lot of those. Maxwell was never found of those... Beans since he heard a third-year was caught sick after eating a toilet-flavored one. Yet, for some reason, he picked the one they said was soup-flavoured and enjoyed it quite smoothly the taste of chicken. Huh, not bad. He soon picked the lemon tart one and grimace with the bitter taste. Every flavour indeed.

"T-Thank you very much, Misses Stones." He said out loud, making both girls high-five each other and put another bunch of beans inside their mouths, changing expressions with each bite. Maybe the weren't so bad after a quick while. Crossing his legs on the hospital bed, Maxwell sighed and started to clam down. Maybe it was just all a dream, he fainted for a different reason, and not because of... Someone dying. What a relief. "Phew, I had... The weirdest dream. I dreamed that one of our... Classmates was... Was..."

 _"Dead? But a guy died, ain't that right, Claudine?"_

 **"Certainly, Angie!"**

"Eh...?" Maxwell blinked once more for that new information. Come again? Before he could say anything else, from inside her robes one of the twins pulled her wand and recited a chant he didn't remember pointing to a certain direction.

In front of them, the curtain that was blocking his view stood aside to show pure horror: the corpse of that boy from before, stilt in time and horror, unmoving! Suddenly, Maxwell lost contact to the world, his legs came uncrossed as he tried to push himself far away in his bed like a leg less cockroach, and at the peak of desperation, he wailed, a scream that cut through all the medical wing and beyond, of total confusion, desperation and fear.

"What is going on?! What happened?!" It didn't take long for Madam **Poppy Pomfrey** , the matron of Hogwarts, to come as fast as lightning inside the medical wing, followed by a handful of professors. Once reaching the place where a uncontrollable Maxwell has hugging his blanket for dear life and the twins were waving their hands in the air in total confusion, she soon intervened by gently pushing both girls away from his bed. "What the...?! How you two ladies get in here? Out! Out, right now! This is no place for mess!"

 **"Bleh~! We were done playing anyway, you old hag~!"**

 _"Yeah, we better leave before Madam Poopy Pomfrey eats us~!"_

"Misses Stones, out right now!" **Headmistress Macgonagall** soon took the lead as she pushed the two girls away from the hospital wing, to them turn back at the hysterical young man on the bed. Maxwell was now a maggot on the medical bed, pulling all the blankets and sheets he could to protect himself, retracting into the wall, or at least the closest he could. Headmistress Macgonagall picked the boy by both shoulders and gave him a light shake for him to face her wrinkling face. "Mister Argento, control yourself! There is nothing to worry about!"

"N-No! He dead! **Desmond! Jones**! Dead! He dead!" Blabbered Maxwell struggling but still in Macgonagall's grasps.

"No; Mister Argento! Mister Jones is not dead, he's petrified!" Intoned the headmistress, giving Maxwell another light shake and with a sterner tone to finally reach the struggling boy. Once he calmed down, Minerva Macgonagall let go of him, as his tearful expression turned now confused, and he tilted his head to look at the another Gryffindor boy across the Hospital Wing. He blinked, sneezed, and cleaned himself up.

"P- _Petrified_...?" He repeated, receiving a nod from the headmistress, who was now adjusting the bun on top of her head, which came a little messy due to his uncontrollable state. That's odd, the boy in front of him didn't seem turned into stone, as the name would suggest. Instead, he seemed... Frozen, still in space and time, not a single movement. He turned his eyes back at the professors next to him. "So, he's not dead? But how...? Why...? But what about...? Nora and the other girl!"

"I can assure you, mr. Argento, **ms. Rigby** and **ms. Mabelle** are far from danger. As for mr. Jones, as soon as **Professor Longbottom's** mandrakes reach maturity, we shall provide him with the proper draught to reverse his petrification. There's nothing to fear." Headmistress Macgonagall's tone and words were gradually calming the alarmed boy, whose hand on the heart began to fall and his breaths, to form a calmer rhythm. He heard a hum coming from her again. "But unfortunately we can't figure the cause of such event. Perhaps... no, It couldn't."

"Minerva, you're not thinking that...!" The diminutive Prof. Flitwick, who had to stand up on one of the chairs, exclaimed the moment Headmistress Macgonagall's words faulted for a second, but halted his own words when the latter gave him a quick, but stern and heavy stare. Said headmistress then turned to boy on the bed.

"Mr. Argento, you have nothing to worry about." She said. For some reason, those same words were making Maxwell breath nervously, but he took a deep breath and nodded understandably. Macgonagall took also a small second to inhale and exhale.

"Yes, ma'am." He responded, taking a small breath and adjusting his uniform, which apparently weren't removed for his relocation. That's a worry less, he supposes.

"Whoa...!" And breaking the tense mood, another strident scream and the deranged sound of shocking metal and porcelain were heard inside the hospital wing, making all those presents turn around to see what was going on: on the floor, covered in syrup and some other potions, laid a young woman of black hair and green eyes, wearing those same matron attires of Madam Pomfrey. The Hogwarts Matron sighed with a hand on her head, helping the young woman on the floor. "S-Sorry, Madam Pomfrey, Its hard to move with this apron! Heheh~!"

"Oh, but if you want to work here, you'll have to be clean and proper, Miss Love." Sighed the older matron, wondering if retiring would doom either her career or the lives of those who have yet to come. Soon enough, the elder woman led the younger one outside, but not before turning back at Maxwell and hand him a small cup of water. "Here Mr. Argento, water with sugar, drink it, it'll make you feel better. You can leave whenever you want, now."

"Y-Yes, Ma'am." The boy said, taking a quick sip out of the cup and feeling the sugary taste of it. He took a deep breath, and turned around to put his feet back on the ground, but not before putting also his black shoes.

Once standing up, all the professors now turned back to the petrified student and started to mumble among themselves, giving small glances back at Maxwell and then mumbling some more. He knew it was rude to stay and eavesdrop them, so without a single glance at them, he turned to the exit, still with a bit of sugar in his lips, the sensation of dread still for some reason lingering around him. Without more or less, he took his way outside, but not before hearing another clash of solutions and potions coming from the newbie nurse, and another sigh coming from Madam Pomfrey. Apparently Mr. Silverstein will have to wait a little more for a lotion for his itchy dots.

"Ah! Maxie!" A familiar voice reached his ears, and fast steps were heard. He turned to the direction of the source, but before he could react, Eleanor Rigby tossed herself on him on a bear hug. Poor boy didn't know what he was grasping on, nor how to react to it, so he tossed both his arms sideways in a way one would think he was about to take flight and smash his face on the ceiling. It took a few seconds to Eleanor to let go of him, but she was still somehow moved. "I wa'so scared, mate! D'jah see wut happ'n to poor Desmond?! A'meen, darn bloke liked to see undah ow skutz, but he didn't deserve dat! Now he ded~! He seein' undah the skutz of angels~!"

"Calm down, Nora. Jones was just petrified. You can let go of Mr. Argento now." It took a few seconds to Maxwell to see, but next to the girl who was bear hugging him there was another lass of blue eyes and blond hair, a sight that made him blush hard, and not because Nora was cutting the circulation of his body. Soon enough, she let go of him to turn to miss Adams, allowing the brown-haired boy to breath normally. "Although it seems like it, Jones is far from dead. How can I say, he's asleep in a way."

"Ah! Warah relief! Jones ain't ded~!" The dark-skinned girl said with a smile, but soon enough, her expression soured a little, which Maxwell could only assume was because of that Mr. Jones 'bad habits' or something. He turned then to the blond next to her, her lips touching the side of her fingers, deep in thoughts. In no time, the trio was walking to a random direction, talking about the subject in hand.

"But why him? I don't think of a reason for that. Even if there is, maybe it was too much. That state is too cruel." Maxwell exclaimed, still a little worried about what happened to his classmate, but also the fact that his shoes were still soaked. Once calmed down, Eleanor simply put her hands behind her head and shined a mischievous smile.

"Ah, Ainnou! Maybe a lassie didn liek wan of his 'peeks' and petrified the bloke!" She joked, which made the boy whine a little under his breath. I mean; Jones wasn't dead, but the situation was still dire at best! There was no time for jokes!

"Even so, magic like that is that of the highest caliber. No student would be able to pull such curse like that." Lucille said, finally lifting her gaze towards her two companions and looking at each with a curious stare. Nora and Maxwell blinked back at her.

"What do you mean? You think... A professor would do such horrible thing?" Maxwell asked the girl, who again turned to kiss her fingers and stare at the ground. Such thought would be better be kept to herself, he thought, because a trigger-happy teacher with the power to turn students into stone were the last thing he would want to found out about the magic world.

"Even so, it would be too risky. Headmistress Macgonagall is sharp as an eagle, and with staff such as Prof. Slughorn and Prof. Longbottom around, a culprit would already be found." She declared, and such brought a little bit of ease in Maxwell's heart. Picking a Cauldron Cake from inside her robes, Eleanor munched on it and shined a smile again.

"Kez closed then, Lucy! Wevah is, the profs will take ker of it! No prob!" Eleanor declared, which made the blond hum under her breath, then shrug to herself. She was right in a way, Maxwell thought to himself, if anything, they could leave those cases to the professors, who were older and wiser wizards. They need to concentrate on their exams, homework and other shenanigans a life of a student should have, magic involvement nonetheless. Himself shrugged and only now noticed how hungry he was after an afternight asleep. "I'm hungry."

"Nora, you're always hungry." The blond declared; making the brunette laugh a little under his breath and the raven-haired girl groan with her hands on her roaring stomach. Soon enough the trio reached the Grand Hall, where students of all four houses were eating lunch, the scent of chicken, turkey, meat and pumpkin juices filling their nostrils.

"So, uh, I guess this is a goodbye for now, miss Adams and Miss... Nora. I'll take my leave now." The boy said to the girls, but then he felt being pulled to a random direction. Before he knew it, he noticed that it was Nora who were pulling his sleeve. He gave her an interrogation: "Uh~... Miss Nora? What are you...?"

"Ah, sayin goobye liek dat? Cum join us, Max! We hev cherry pie for ya in our table!" She said with a smile that made his ears grow hotter and redder, but then Ms. Adams came to pinch the back of Nora's hand and make her let go of the boy. The latter pouted at her. "Oy, wazzat big idea, Lucy?"

"Nora, do not be rude. I'm sure that Mr. Argento has his own acquaintances back in his seat at the Slytherin table." She coldly declared, which surprised both classmates with her attitude. Before any of them could say anything else, she continued with a calmer tone and a pat on Nora's shoulder: "Moreover, our upperclassmen won't be too happy knowing that both of us are changing politenesses with a rival House. Let him be for now."

"Hah? Watcha talkeen'bout, Lucy? But he still owes me sum dizzut!" Nora said with a pout, turning her head left and right. Maxwell sighed under his breath, so apparently Miss Adams also believes in the rivalry between the four houses: Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, which their own were the ones with the most tense rivalry. He didn't like it much, it makes his shoulders heavy with every right answer, but he didn't want them to get into trouble, so he called for the pouting Nora.

"Don't worry, miss Nora. I'll save some lemon tarts for you later. We better get going to our tables so no one will stay mad at us." He said turning around to walk towards his table, while Nora tried to reach him only to be stopped by Lucille. Ms. Adams was right, they're from rival houses, courtesies like that only much later. Even so, for the little moment hey shared together, Maxwell in fact felt more at ease with them than the whole week he has spent with his own house. We're going to discuss such topic later on.

Once in the Slytherin house, the boy made himself comfortable sitting next to some first-years, picking a small plate of porridge and some pieces of bread for his plate. Looking around, he noticed that the twins were nowhere to be found, which was both a sign of relief and dread. What they could possibly be planning as for now, since everything is away having lunch? He carefully swallowed one spoonful of porridge after another, looking around to see if nothing explodes or the twins are running around, trying to escape something themselves unleashed. Nothing as for now, but the moment the finished his oats and milk, a duo of students sat in front of him, in a way that let their presence be known to him. Judging by their stances, they were Slytherin as well...

"So... _Muggle-born_! How are you doing?" The one on the right, of long black hair, equally ebony eyes and fragile-looking appearance said to him, while the boy of equally black hair and eyes next to her gave him a light handwave. Maxwell put his small spoon down to mimic that gesture, while the girl wouldn't stop smiling. "The name's **Loretta Martins** , and this one next to me is my stupid cousin **JoJo**!"

"Lori, how many times I have to say? Please, my name is **Johnson** , not JoJo." The boy of name JoJo(?) simply said with a quick frown, returning to eat a small lemon tart on his hand. Loretta Martins, the excited one of the duo, returned with the questions to the muggle-born without even realizing her cousin's protests.

"Hey muggle-born, how's the wizardry world for you?" The girl named Loretta asked with a smile, which actually caught the said 'muggle-born' by surprise. She was eyeing him with such curiosity, he started to feel a bit uncomfortable, so much, when he tried to pick a breadstick, it unfortunately broke in half on his hand. Loretta's expression continued to be stilted. He returned his brown eyes to her, and tried to smile.

"It's... Nice. Very good... I like it." He lied under his breath so he wouldn't draw any negative emotions from the girl in front of him, who he suspected, was born into this world. To be honest, he has been fearful about everything since Prof. Flitwick shown into his house and declared him a wizard, and while the wizardry world has indeed its share of wonders and tricks, he was still scared of such new environment, even now that one of his classmates practically... Died. He returned his eyes back forward, and faced an even more gleeful ms. Martins, much for his confusion.

"Is that so? Of course that a muggle-born would think that!" She declared, but soon blinked once and blushed a little, waving a dismissive hand in front of him as she was trying, trying I repeat, to ease the certain level of offense in her words. "I mean, not that I'm a muggle-hater, but someone coming from that world would surely be mesmerized by magic and Hogwarts! That's what I meant!"

"I see... You're kinda right." Maxwell murmured to her, making her smile come as strong as before, while he continued to lie under his breath. The boy next to the excited raven-haired girl took a quick look at him, but soon returned to eat some toasts and loaf. Loretta again turned to him.

"Ain't I? But just to be clear, some muggle schools are quite good too! None are better than Hogwarts, but I have another cousin, Y'know, who's a squib, and he said there are some great schools!" She said with a bright disposition despite the fact that her aura was starting to suffocate the poor boy, who could only helplessly hear her count down some schools he heard of. "There's Eton, and Cambridge, and Oxford, and Harvard, I heard those schools are pretty good and they teach good muggle subjects!"

"Yes, they do." Poor girl, she probably doesn't know that only Eton was the one which was a 'school' proper for their age **(and even so, inaccessible for her)** , but he kept himself quiet so that her fantasies wouldn't be shattered. Loretta clapped hands together, as she was proud of herself.

"Heheheh~! So, muggle-born, are you having some... Difficulties in learning magic? I mean, those must be hard for you." She said in a lower tone, and Maxwell was about to respond that he was actually doing just fine with regular spells and charms, but he takes a quick glimpse on the right side of the witch in front of him and see the JoJo boy tilting his index finger left and right as a sign of a warning before returning to his lunch, forcing Maxwell to stay quiet. Loretta continued with her small talk to him, unknowingly choking him with words. "I mean, it must be so hard to memorize some words, and those magical potions and creatures must be hard to learn about, aren't they? How about I help you with them? After all...!"

"I-I remember that I have to go somewhere else. Sorry for that, Miss Loretta, but I promise we can study together sometime." He declared, munching the last pieces of toast and bread and standing up from his seat to walk away from the Great Hall. Maybe the most innocent and direct excuse someone like him would come up within that situation, and even so, he feels bad about it. But still, he couldn't take the suffocating atmosphere around both of them anymore. He almost hurled down what he just ate, but after a quick gulp, he returned to his walk to far away from them.

"Ah! Okay, muggle-born! We... We have no prejudice! You can talk to us as much as you like! Come back I can teach you some things!" He didn't turn back to face the screams behind him, Maxwell only continued to walk away from the Great Hall and into Hogwarts' numerous ancient corridors. "Hey, I can call you a magbob, can't I?! I know I can! Thanks!"

When he finally thought he was far enough he could finally breath normally, supporting his weak body against the stone wall and taking deep and refreshing breaths. What was that all about? He felt... Suffocated, like every of her words were little by little strangling him, and thinking about studying with her... He could only sigh in relief when she was really far away from him, and munch the rest of the crunch of bread and toast left in his mouth in peace. He wasn't even that hungry to begin with, so he resumed with a walk around Hogwarts castle...

If it wasn't for the previous scare and the fact a classmate of him was... 'Petrified', as they called, he would be mesmerized by the massive size of the castle around him. The cold air which would whisper from the old rock walls, the echoing steps of classmates and professors walking around giving him somehow a sense of safety, and the always cloudy sky passing its light on the ruins, he could almost get lost himself into the place, everything was so big, so grandiose, so respectful and so... Empty.

Yes, empty. Hogwarts was empty for him. Filled with students, filled with professors for all the places, including those who apparently wouldn't move from a position at all, yet he was complete and utterly alone. Classmates from Slytherin acted just like miss Loretta, and the rest of the houses were just as bad. He wasn't just one of the many students there, he was also an anomaly for some reason. 'Muggle-born' or 'mudblood', whatever those meant. This is the first time he was outside, with people the same age as him, since his parents would always home-school him, yet without the presence of them, he was completely alone, solitary, lonely. He was even starting to miss the Stones sisters...

"Better go to the library to study." He declared to no one, an habit he picked after some hours of loneliness. Yes, books, knowledge, the only thing he knew it could calm him down and make his mind go elsewhere, even if it means passing next to the scary Madam Irma Pince. Besides, he needs another exemplar of Dark Arts: a guide to self-protection for DADA until he could find his own... Or Angie and Claudine decide to give it back, you never know...

Taking a deep breath, he walked across the Great Hall where of some students were still enjoying a full lunchtime of a cloudy and cold Sunday and followed to the Grand Staircase, already hearing the echoing sound of the stubborn stairs that wouldn't stay in one place. Fortunately, the library was right on the first floor, so there was no more vertigo for him, and the way leading to it was far away from where... He found the horror of a classmate. As expected by the hour, the corridors leading to the place were deserted, apparently no one wants to get near the library at a Sunday, with the exception of some upperclassmen, who Maxwell avoided at all cost. They were so frighting...

The library, a place to behold itself with its thousands of shelves, hundreds of narrow rows and, of course, tens of thousands of books, all so uncomfortably sharing several rows. The only place Maxwell could feel at ease. After a quite salute to the librarian Irma Pince and a quick yet not-so-friendly reminder of proper library behavior, the now walks pass several shelves of books, all neatly arranged in proper sections, except the mysterious Restricted Section, which just by the name, Maxwell didn't want anything from it. So scary...

He shakes his head a little to get rid of those thoughts, and soon resumes his walk around the place. Ah, how he wanted to move on and stay in the library for what's worth, but that would upset madam Pince, being scary as she already is, and the twins would probably blow up the place or make things worse for that, so that was a no deal. So, he wonders what he can do now. Maybe he should finish that report on Snatching Salvias from Prof. Longbottom's class, or maybe start his homework about the Lumos spell and variations from Prof. Fleetwood. There was so much to do, not to mention, the twins would probably start calling him to write their homework with the threat of making his socks walk by themselves or something. At least he was at peace, for once...

"Ah!"

"Oh~?" He spoke too soon. The moment he was about to enter a certain section about herbology, he almost bumped into another student. He was about to apologize, but then he notice with whom he almost bumped: that same girl from Defense Against Dark Arts class, that First-year Ravenclaw girl of black hair and grey eyes of contempt carrying a rather large book, **Rosa Lee**. Seeing him, she opened a smile full of malice and her bespectacled eyes shined with darkness. Maxwell felt like he was about to get eaten. "Oh, if it isn't the _Mudblood_ know-it-all Maxwell from Slytherin."

"H-Hello, miss Lee~!" He smiled awkwardly, with plans of escaping. The way she was facing him were reaching dangerous levels, and there was something in her eyes that were practically warning him that she meant no good deed. Forgetting the books, he tried to escape with a single step forward. "S-Sorry to disturb you, miss Lee. I should... I should be taking my lead right n-..."

Too late. In one swift move, Rosa Lee sucker-punched him right in the stomach, then used her hand to silence him up when he opened his mouth to let out a moan of pain, not by sealing his mouth with her palm mind you; but by jamming four fingers down his throat; to almost nauseous depth. He feels sick, his mouth full of fleshy appendices and his jaw feeling it might disconnect from the rest of his skull. Rosa Lee gave up an ominous 'hmph' and after a quick scan around the place and certain that no one was around or saw what just transpired, she pushed him further into an isolated row and sat him on a random chair, as she removed her hand from his mouth so that he could cough and breath again.

"Why in such a hurry, Mudblood? It is very suspicious for you to be in this floor again, where our dear classmate Mr. Jones was petrified, just a day after said accident, don't you think?" She said, supporting a hand on one of his shoulder, while she dried the other one from his saliva. Not by rubbing the liquid away on her uniform, but licking the dripping mucous herself. Seeing this, Maxwell held his breath. What a frighting girl she was. The boy tried to escape, but then Rosa Lee inclined herself, making her face be dangerously close to his. She opened a sarcastic smile. "Also, why wouldn't you want to talk to yours truly, the smartest first-year? How rude, how rude..."

"I-I'm sorry..." He doesn't know how to react to her behavior, but seeing how offended she looks, the only thing he could mutter was a pathetic sorry, even if he doesn't know for what reason why. Another smiled shines on her pretty lips, and he sinks himself even more into the cold wooden seat. She picks him by the chin so Maxwell could look at her right in the eyes.

"Ah, politeness. The weak's response to aggression. Well, it was expected from someone as skinny as you." She mutters under her smile, her hand touching his chin in picking him by the jaw in a way Maxwell had to open his mouth, while she leaned over him yet again to open her mouth and stuck her tongue out. A few drops of saliva fell on his mouth from the tip of her tongue. "Say Mudblood, answer me this: do you feel as an equal to me just because you memorized a few things from books? Huh? Tell me, you do you feel as an equal to a pure-boooded such as myself, you weakling mudblood?"

"Nuh-uh~! Nuh-uh~!" Since he was still being held hostage by the jaw, The boy could only shake his head negatively, while mutters of a 'no' would escape his open mouth. He's cold-sweating now, what and why that girl was doing? Apparently, her pride was driving part of her behavior as for now, as when he finally admitted defeat, her smile softened a little, just a little bit.

"Good answer, the right answer. Maybe you'll be useful in something." She said with a grin, letting go of him. Maxwell, once away from her clutches, coughed away from her, his throat sore and dry. He couldn't even move just a little more, Rosa Lee again picks him by the shoulder to sit still on the wooden chair, and out of nowhere, she picks a book to land it on top of his lap. He turned to see the book there.

" _'Hogwarts, a history'_?" He murmured the book's title.

"The revised version by **Hermione Granger** from 2002. Some additional informations about our School regarding the house elves and other events post-war, but not important as for now." She complemented him, reaching her hand for the pages and flipping them over and over in rapid succession, until she stopped on a specific subject on the book. Maxwell looked down again, something about a place called... " **The Chamber of Secrets**. This is what I want to share with you, mudblood."

"Chamber... Of secrets?" Maxwell muttered, turning his attention to the little words on the book regarding the four Founders, the school, and the eponymous Chamber of Secrets. Apparently created by the founder of his house, **Salazar Slytherin** , with the intention to... _Purge_ the muggle-born students, just like himself, due to Salazar's refusal to teach such. The place was build before he left the school, and was the lair... Of a **monster**. Maxwell gulped dryly. "W-What that... What that has to do with me?"

"Fifteen years ago, the chamber was open. No students died, but a few were petrified by the said monster of the Chamber. Doesn't that ring any bells for you?" Maxwell started to sweat again in realization. His eyes turned to her, back to the pages, back to her stare again, and her smile grew even more. What was she implying? He opened his mouth, and let out a small gasp of air escape...

"Miss Lee, are thinking that...?"

"Yes. If my guess is correct, someone or something opened the Chamber of Secrets yet again, and whatever monster lies there, it's attack students yet again." She declared with a laugh, tapping her fingers on the book as yet again she leaned towards him to dangerous proximity and blew another hot breath on his lips. "And you, my newest mudblood servant, will help me find this Chamber of Secrets!"

"B-But why?" He muttered miserably. "It's too dangerous! Why would you want to do that instead of letting the professors do it instead?"

"Why? You ask why?" She laughed, tapping her feet on a table and then pointing at the sky. "For **GLORY** , of course!"

And Maxwell could only gulp a heavy; large sigh. What would happen to him now?

* * *

 **And now from where we left, the chamber of secrets, open? Who could possibly be doing this, and how our little heroes will react to it? Maybe in the next celebration, so maybe? I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the interest until this part and remember to R &R, for the sake of an author's heart~! But your interest is always welcome!**


	4. A contagious smile for you

**And Maxwell's bizarre adventure continues in Hogwarts! Time for a new adventure!**

 **As always, harry potter doesn't belong to me. JK Rowling does not grace this part of the fandom anymore.**

* * *

 _"A long time ago, Salazar Slytherin, the founder of the eponymous house, built within Hogwarts' entrails the Chamber of Secrets, the home of a Monster which he believed would purge the impure and unworthy of the Wizardry arts from the corridors of his beloved school. Alienated by the other Founders, Salazar sealed the Chamber away, in the hopes the True Heir of Slytherin would propagate his legacy. Generations later, the chamber was once again open and a student died, while another was erroneously framed by the murder, the real Culprit escaping justice under everyone's noses except for the at the time Transfiguration Professor Dumbledore, who would later become Hogwarts' headmaster. Then, fifteen years ago, the same heir of Slytherin opened the Chamber of Secrets, marking his steps towards his revolution, only to be defeated by Harry Potter, the boy who lived. The name of the heir, who's marked in history as the most terrifying Dark Wizard who ever lived, was Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as..."_

" _Lord Voldemort_." Just by hearing that name, for some reason, a cold chill ran down Maxwell's neck and made him jump on his seat and let go of Hogwarts History book, and it wasn't just for the fact that Rosa Lee is dangerously too close to himself. What is that about? This is the first time he ever hears that name, yet such dreadful alias sounded horrifying in his head. Cold sweat running down his forehead, he turns around to face Rosa Lee's grey stare, squinted eyes combined with an ear-to-ear smile, giving her a rather creepy aura. "What's the matter, Mudblood? Feeling the cold wind of saying his name? Horrifying, isn't it?"

"I-I'm just... Surprised. Do you really think... Someone opened the Chamber of Secrets again?" With his own voice falling a little, Maxwell asks his classmate, whose response was only a light laugh sounding like 'ahah ahahah'. So the heir of Slytherin, the most dangerous dark wizard of ever lived, was back at Hogwarts, and the 'monster' was at it again? Frightening indeed, but for some reason, Rosa Lee seemed to be having the time of her life. Maxwell gulps hard, closing the book. "Do you think the Professors know about something, anything?"

"They might have a hunch, or even know more than we do with this book, but refuse to let it be known to us to avoid massive panic." Saying that, her eyes scan around all the visible corridors and shelves surrounding them in an attempt to spot any unwanted eavesdroppers or attention from Ms. Pince. Fortunately for her, none of both, so she again redirects her attention to the so-called Mudblood. "Fortunately for us, Hogwarts has the bad habit of underestimating students' intelligence or the wizardry world as a whole sometimes, which is why those things are so easy to happen in the first place. On the other hand, everybody is just so dense it is possible that only I, the smartest first year, might've figured it out. Ahah ahahah..."

"A-Ahah... Ahahah..." Maxwell didn't know what to do, so he simply repeated her laugh, sharing a bizarre and tense moment of levity with her. Rosa Lee suddenly stops her laugh to silence her classmate with a Shakespearian grab, as in, her hand cupping his jaw while her fingers would squeeze the air out of his cheeks.

"However, despite being a wizard wannabe, I can't actually roll my eyes away from you and your efforts to match a native from the wizardry world, Mudblood. And I can't risk you taking all the glory for this discovery." Rosa Lee returned to her sweet and soft tone of voice, which didn't ease Maxwell since she was still holding him by the jaw. She squeezes his cheeks one more time, then comes closer to him, so close. "Ahah... Ahahah... Say, mudblood, would you like to join forces with me?"

"...?"

"Oh, right. Apologies, be thankful for them." There was no response from the brunet, but only because the raven-haired Ravenclaw was still holding his face hostage. She dismisses her grip around him for him to cough and massage his cheeks a little. She touched her own cheek with a thinking finger. "But the idea is still up. Say, would you like to unravel this mystery with yours truly?"

"W-Why...?" That wasn't an answer, which made Rosa Lee pout a little, while Maxwell would still massage his now red cheeks. How far she wants to go for her so-called glory? Wasn't she afraid of being attacked by the monster? Wasn't she afraid that her classmates, her friends, would be afflicted by such in the meantime, unknowing of such threat while she plays detective? Since she hasn't assaulted him yet again for his statement, Maxwell felt compelled to continue: "Miss Lee, this is really dangerous! Aren't you afraid? Don't you think is better to let it to the professors?! Our classmates are in danger too! We should...!"

"Let them know?" Maxwell couldn't finish his sentence: Rosa Lee's patience ran thin with his last sentence, so she again shoves her hand into his mouth. He feels nauseous, but fortunately the intrusion was not lasting like last times. Instead, she slips her hand back, now touching the tip of her fingers on his teeth, feeling some loose ones here and there. And some remains of toast and lemon tarts too. Gross~. Even so, she smiles, reaching again for him, so close he could feel her breath touching his lips and teeth. "Fine then, let them know. However, keep in mind that should a despair breakdown ever occur, and then our suspicions turn out to be false or exaggerated, all the guilt shall befall you, and being a mudblood from Slytherin, would you want that to happen?"

"...!" Maxwell is so lucky: His jaw didn't have to drop since Rosa Lee had opened it wide for him. Jokes aside, Maxwell didn't say anything, he didn't want to, he didn't have to, Rosa Lee knows she's already won. Inside his mind, the poor muggle-born struggles: Hogwarts is in great danger, his classmates and professors are in great danger, and an old legacy has awakened yet again to curse the school of witchcraft and wizardry...

Or maybe not? Maybe it is all a coincidence? Maybe it is just a sick prank? He's a muggle, he doesn't know best, he doesn't know the limits or restrictions to magic, so much simple spells would simply amaze him, and ever turn of a page was a new surprise or nightmare full for his mind, so it was a shot in the dark. To try to take the chance for the sake of his own classmates, only to be proven wrong and be known as the boy who cried wolf, him of all people, from the most hated house and the so-called Mudblood? Rosa Lee let out a cute, yet eerie laugh, finally removing her fingers from his moist cavity then running a single one down his chin to close his agape mouth. Her face says it all: she has won.

"Good to know that some mudbloods, raised by muggles of all things, have some sense of self. It makes you look cute too. Gross~." Another laugh, another poignant remark, although hearing the word 'cute' addressed made the boy blush. Her finger escapes the touch on his chin, then she makes a blasé pose of disinterest. "Besides, it's not like some low-lived, scatterbrained commoners such as them would be of any help, anyway. The second most intelligent first-year is a mudblood, you. So I'm not putting much faith in them to even believe us. Ahah... Ahahah... Being intelligent practically is talking in another language, don't you agree?"

"..." Maxwell rolls his eyes to a random direction, still trying to escape the fact Rosa Lee is dangerously close to him. Moreover, she has a point: as far as he knows, only a handful of people would believe in them, and even if they do, chaos would ensue, and that itself would be really risky, either by the one opening the chamber of secrets or the school staff. Besides, he doesn't want to be even more infamous than he already is. He has no choice but to agree with Rosa Lee, but even so, a small question still pans around both of them. "Alright miss Lee. I'll help you. I don't want people getting hurt, but can I ask you a question? Why... Why do you seek glory?"

"I'm... Just _bored_."

"..." That wasn't the type of answer that Maxwell was looking, and honestly, asking that, while putting his view on perspective, made him fear the lady in front of him more than he already was. She was doing all of that... Because she is bored? He gulps a dry one, and sighs. She's indeed an odd one. "You're... Bored."

"Oh, right. You're a mudblood." She sticks her tongue out and bops his nose with the tip of her fingers. There is a bright shine inside her dull grey eyes, something that Maxwell starts to fear, and she then opens a smile, showing him her pearly whites. "You are an alien, a fish out of water, a complete strange to the wizardry world. Everything you see here, it's your first time, and it both mesmerizes and frightens you, so much that having this conversation with you is exhausting. However, look at this in my perspective: everything is dull, everything is boring. Everything you see here, I've seen several times in my house or at the streets of Diagonal Alley. It bores me, and combined with every other daft doofus of our age walking around cleaning its nose or with a chocolate frog's leg hanging from their collar makes me immensely frustrated. Can you understand this? Can you comprehend my craving~?"

"A-Aaah~... Well...!" Maxwell was getting nervous, even more so now that she was getting too close of him. Every sentence, every statement, she would take a step forward and he would take a step back, the shine in her eyes getting more and more intense, starting to give her a dangerous vibe. Eventually, she corners her on the wall, then reaches her hands for his face, now touching cheeks with him with her own and starting to snuggle them. He was running out of breath.

"Even for a mudblood, you can, can't you? For this stay in Hogwarts, I want something to happen, and this mystery is teasing my frustration, practically dancing on the tip of my tongue~, and I want to take a big, strong bite out of it! Whatever it is, being a sick prank or an old legacy walking around here again to haunt the corridors, I just want to know, and then receive all the glory! A spark of romance in the otherwise dull stay here!" She was now getting aggressive, she was pushing their cheeks so much that it was starting to hurt and Maxwell could sense the crushing sensation between her body and the wall behind him! Dangerous, she was indeed dangerous! She's going to eat him! "So what if some of our classmates will end up petrified? So what if Hogwarts is in danger? Doesn't that make you excited? Doesn't that make your heart skip a beat? _DOESN'T IT_?!"

"..."

"..."

"I'm just kidding, of course."

"Eh...?" The moment she says that, all the hostility vanished, and Maxwell felt himself being free from her grasp. Opening his eyes, Rosa Lee was now on her back, facing the opposite direction. He didn't understand why, but at least he was free at last, so he can dust the rugs and crannies of his uniform and the dust on his back. However, Rosa Lee turns around to face him, so he flinched. "Eek~..."

"Relax, Mudblood. I'm not as needy as this to blindly search for such cause. That's a muggle's thing." She turns around to face him, again with her blasé pose. Maxwell was taken back by such statement yet again, but before he could say anything, she takes a step forward, touching again his lips with a finger. "Even so, wouldn't that be exciting? We, not chosen ones like Harry Potter, uncovering a mystery and gaining a glory similar to the boy-who-lived? You might be satisfied by what you see, but I don't. Even so, wouldn't that be nice?"

"..." Maxwell can't say anything, his mind was on the corner. On one side, he was afraid. Who wouldn't? A deathly mystery around, a creature described as nothing but a 'monster' which probably has several hundred years, lurking around the wizard school and petrifying students, it is enough motives for something like that, and even so, why should he take care of such job when the professors, wizards and witches far more experienced and intelligent, could handle it better? But then again, maybe the problem wouldn't be there in the first place if they were... She shakes his head. This is a really bad thing to think about your masters! But on the other side... He needs to help in some way. He understands the motives behind no student be allowed to know such, but as one of the few who has at least a clue, maybe he could help a little. He gulps, sighs, but then blinks and take a step forward while Rosa Lee's finger escape his lips. She wife her eyes in surprise. "Okay, I understand. I'll help you. I don't really get it why you need this, but if this helps the school and stop people from being petrified, then I'll help you. But if this gets out of control, we WILL get help from the professors, okay? I just... I just want it to stop, okay? Please..."

"..." She was taken back a little, no really besides the wide eyes behind the thick lenses of her glasses, a new expression of her for Maxwell. She staid like that for two, three seconds, then light came back to her eyes; and she smiled. "But of course. If we see things getting out of control, we shall ask the help of our masters. After all, shifting blame is a great tactic for risky problems. I approve such idea."

"Uh... I mean... Yeah, okay. Fair enough." And Maxwell sighs yet again in defeat. Not the kind of reaction, response or motive he wanted from her, but apparently you can work around those with a certain mentality. He'll help her, and while she'll get her glory, his school life will flow without problems, so it's a win-win situation yet again, right? At least it'd work. He blinks again, and yet again she's too close to him. "Uh... Miss Lee? W-What are you... Doing?"

"You know, since I'll get all the glory for saving our school, maybe your cooperation should receive a reward for such? It disgusts me, but let me tell you thus..." Then she steps closer to him, until they foreheads were touching, and just this close, in a tone lower than a whisper, she says it: "... If we found out who or what is causing this, and then stop it... I'll kiss you!"

"Eh...?"

"On the lips, like adults do."

"..."

You could swear that someone transfigured Maxwell's head to a kettle now seeing that he was almost expelling steam out of his crimson ears. What in the world? Was that girl serious? A kiss just by helping?! He's starting to hyperventilate, and needed the support of a nearby chair to get his composure back, all while Rosa Lee was now giggling. Yes, giggling. He takes another deep breath and sighs, only to be picked up by the chin one more time.

"So, do we have a deal... Maxwell, the mudblood?"

"I'm... I-I'm not doing for the kiss!"

"I never said you are."

"Oh..."

"So, do we have a deal?"

"Y-Yes."

"Yay~."

Indeed, such a scary, frightening girl...

...

After making the deal with her, mind you with his classmates and school in mind and not the kiss!, Maxwell decided to search at first Salazar Slytherin, the founder of his own house, and the creator of the chamber of Secrets and its monster. Like they say, if you want to unravel its mysteries, first you got to go back to its roots. Like that old tv show his parents loved to watch...

He even forgot to take his exemplar for his DADA class, picking instead several old books of History of magic and a copy of 'Hogwarts: A history', to get deeper into the castle's secrets, while Rosa Lee would instead search for Magical creatures that could fit the victims' descriptions: a 'monster' which can live several hundreds of years, which can apparently turn invisible or escape really fast and can petrify, and apparently kill, its victims somehow. Even with his fear of such, Maxwell could only wonder while he crosses Hogwarts corridor, passed almost unnoticed by the rest of the staff and students even with some books on his chest and by the fact that his trusty satchel grew a few times over with the quantity of books.

A monster which can escape in a blink of an eye, and which can petrify and even kill somehow. Not to mention, only Slytherin and his descendants would be able to control, so they must've any sort of special power for such. But then again, he is in the wizard world, so anything is possible until proven otherwise, and not only that, but while Salazar's monster was a big and matching answer for the problem in question, it was just a hunch at best even for them, and if not, another problem would arise because of it. Which means he'll be at square one for a while, while every person next to him can become a victim of whatever is happening! He's so frustrated, he started to pout to no one in the middle of the corridors...

"What's the matter, Mr. Argento?"

"Eeek!" So sudden that call, Maxwell's mind catapulted back to reality in a shriek, as he turns around to see the author of that voice. He already got an idea of who was based on the tone, and turning around, he just confirmed it, while also reddening on the ears. "Ah! Miss Adams..."

"Overwhelming reaction, underwhelming response. Rude." It was now her time to pout as the boy sheepishly scratched the back of his head. He can't help it, all of this 'monster' thinking is starting to poison his little mind, not to mention the thought that the school is no longer a safe place is making all of his self-preserving senses to be at their highest caliber. Still, he thought, no need to be so rude to an innocent and unaware classmate. He soon gulps those two last words, and opens a nervous smile, the only smile he has for her.

"Ahah... Ahahah... So sorry, Miss Adams. You just... surprised me. But again, it's my fault that I was distracted and such... Ahahah..." Nervous laugh, weak justification and an apology followed by more nervous laugh, wasn't he on a roll? Unlike him, Lucille Adams doesn't shift her expression, only facing him with a stoic face for a few seconds to see his laughing self fall face-fault. She blinks, he blinks, then starts over. "So, uh, how is... Miss Nora?"

"She went to see the quidditch team train this afternoon, and since I don't enjoy it as much as her, I decided to walk around to pass the time; maybe go to the library and finish Prof. Fleetwood's homework." She sighs as he notices how bitter her expression becomes, if not just a little. Maxwell tilts his head to a side, uncertain of what to say since, well, there wasn't much to. Eleanor who would usually break the tension between the two was not there anymore due to quidditch practice, and none of them know each other so much to touch any subject without being awkward or uncertain of a sensitive one (he could talk about which colour she was wearing today. Again, sensitive subject!). Maybe inviting her to study together was a good idea, but then again; Rosa Lee's still lurking around the library, so it was dangerous for both of them. It'd be rude too to just say goodbye like that. What to do? Maxwell then hears a ring on his ear. "Hey, Mister Argento..."

"Y-Yeah...?"

"I'm sorry." From all directions he was staring at to avoid looking at her, Maxwell suddenly shifts it all to her, surprised by her words as her ears turn in a bright pink and her eyes point at a different direction. He tilts his head in total confusion, while she pouts and slowly but steadily turns her head to look back at him. One, two seconds of silence, and she sighs, starting over. "I'm sorry if I ended up as rude during lunch. It wasn't my intention, and even with our Houses' rivalry, I didn't have enough reasons to treat you so rudely. It's just... I don't feel comfortable with people I don't know, but even so..."

"N-No! I understand perfectly! You have no fault at that!" He starts shaking his head frenetically in front of her. He understands, he knows how is to be uncomfortable in a new environment, considering that's true even in that moment. Above all over, however, Maxwell felt relief with her saying that, like an enormous weight was lift from his shoulders or something. He sheepishly scratches the back of his head again, then bows lightly to the lady in front of him. "It's just... It's quite alright. I know that you mean no harm, and our first encounter wasn't one of the best..."

"Uh-huh..."

"So I think I'm the one who should be apologizing." He pouts to no one, returning his gaze at her, only to see her doing the same, her eyes telling him how confused and lost in their conversation she was. He waves his hand again in an embarrassed way in front of her, nervously laughing it off. "Ahahah... I... Am really sorry about the other day."

"..."

"But...!" And in an instinctive move, Maxwell takes a step forward and holds one of his hands towards her, as she steps back in clear surprise. It wasn't his intention, but even so he kept walking on her direction while one hand would go forward on a handshake. "I'd like very much for us to be f-f-friends! Please, you would forgive me for earlier and be my fr-...Ow!"

"Huh...?" When Maxwell was about to said it, he couldn't finish. The moment he took his final step for the handshake and his apology, he felt a sting of pain on his right arm and his hand instinctively backed away and flinched. This again? However, unlike last time, the pain continued, that sting, that burn that wouldn't go away, making him moan in discomfort and pain. He then pulls his sleeve up, only to gasp in terror together with his classmate: his arm was bleeding. "Oh, my. Mr. Argento, what happened?"

"I... I don't know!" He so weakly says, folding the sleeve of his uniform up so that it wouldn't stain it anymore and waving his hand at it in a quite childish way to stop the bleeding. Just like that, the pain subdued and then stopped, but his mind is running too fast for him to notice. Drip, drip, crimson drops would fall and stain the ground as he wouldn't stop jumping in desperation and phantom pain, a side to behold and laugh at. Luckily for them, no other student was around to witness such display of schadenfreude. "E-Eek~! This is bad~! There is so much blood~! Ah, and what if I lose too much~! I don't want to die by hemorrhage~! I have to stick the bleeding~! I have t-...!"

"Here." And now it's Lucille time to interrupt. Before the brunette could fall flat on the floor (not by bloodloss mind you, but sheer nervous breakdown), a friendly grip held him back in place, gently holding him still while something soft reached the wound. Maxwell finally stops his little tantrum and sees Lucille holding him still, a napkin onto his arm which was absorbing the blood and cleaning his skin from the crimson fluid. He gasps in surprise, and she turns her eyes back at him, only to look away soon after. Only now Maxwell notices it doesn't hurt anymore. "Don't worry if I apply pressure, maybe it won't that much. But I think it stopped for now. Huh..."

"Y-Yeah... You're right..." He says absentmindedly, seeing her rubbing her now stained piece of cloth onto his arm to clean it off the blood. It took her a few seconds to notice what she was doing, so she stopped, looking at him and then leaving her napkin on his arm to take a step back. He blinks too, then picks the napkin to finish off the problem. Fortunately, really, it wasn't bleeding anymore. When he was done, there was only a bloodied napkin on his hand which he returned to her and with a touch of her wand it cleaned right off, however, under the crimson stains, Maxwell noted something else: there was now another mark on his arm, besides the previous R-shaped one, three lines forming another deranged letter, now an 'A', next to it. He wide his eyes in surprise. What was that now? "U-Uh...? What the...?"

"Mr. Argento. Here." He snaps back to reality, looking forward to the girl in front of him, who was now offering him a small bottle of something? His eyes examine it, trying to figure it out what it is, concluding that it was a flask shaped like a tear with an orange-coloured liquid inside. He hums in surprise, but Lucille steps forward, forcing her offer again. "It might've stop bleeding, but I think you should be careful with it. This is a special palm my mother gave me for wounds, but I think you need it more than I do."

"A-Ah, thank... You." He nods in understanding, holding his hands in a way she could pass him said palm in a careful, slow way. Once in his possession, he takes another glance at it, and sighs, feeling bad for making her give such precious little present to him, a boy who has been nothing but trouble for her. But, he has to admit, deep down, he's also really happy. He peeks back at her, the blush still across her cheeks. "So... Your mother always lent you some palm for you? I mean, you're giving it to me, but I don't want to be a problem..."

"D-Don't think about it. My mother is a _Healer_ back in _St. Mungus_ ', so you can probably guess that she can be quite careful with my health." Was that supposed to be a joke? A little snark from Lucille Adams? He doesn't know at all, but Maxwell couldn't help but chuckle a little under his breath, making the blond witch apprentice tilt her head in confusion, not also able to hide the little blush on her cheeks. He stops seeing the way she was staring at him, and so she continued. "But yes, when I'm away, I always carry some palm for injuries and wounds. Mother always says to be better safe than sorry."

"Ah, how nice." Maxwell smiles. His mother is always so busy, so filled with work, she never stops home to care much about his being, same with his father. Seeing such love and care from another parental figure, instead of making him upset, actually brightens his face a bit, a sight that Lucille, frankly, found very cute. They shared a stare, then moved away from each other in shame, both ears so red they were almost fuming. Maxwell, as always, laughs nervously and pass on the conversation. "Your mother... Seems nice. Very wise too with that advice!"

"She also always says that boys who are usually quiet are the dangerous ones." And even with his smile on, Maxwell's shine suddenly disappeared, being replaced by a sour aura around him. Typical mom, can't blame her since Hogwarts is a boarding school and those concerns are a reality even in the muggle world. They share another quiet, awkward silence, then her ears start to burn a little. "So... Don't worry, you're not... Dangerous."

"Does that mean I'm not quiet?"

"Not after that, you are not." Even with such harshness in her sentence, Maxwell couldn't help but laugh at such eloquent choice of words in a conversation that's supposed to be civilized. Lucille didn't quite understand his reaction, but his laughter was contagious, and so she giggles under her hand. Both little wizard apprentices, sharing a moment in the corridor alone. For Maxwell, that was the happiest memory of Hogwarts he has so far, so that's enough. In the end, they stop, and soon enough, Lucille returns to her walk to the library for some books for her homework. "So I'll be going ahead. Take care, Mr. Argento. I think it's best for you to look for professional help if it ever bleeds again."

"Ah, I see. Okay, I will. Thank you." He nods to her then bows in respect. This time, he had fun with her. It was awkward, it was weird, it made him a little less respectful in her eyes, but in the end, they had fun, and now he could see another side of her besides, well, the usual. It makes him happy somehow. He puts the palm inside the pocket of his robe then turns back to see her back walking away from him. A moment of hesitation, then he remembers his talk with Rosa Lee. Wait, so that means... Lucille was also in danger?! "Ah...! Wait...! Miss Adams...?"

"Yes?" She turns around, but then realization hits Maxwell harder than any spell caster upon him by the Stones twins, and like a fish, he opens and closes his mouth, sealing his lips with his teeth. No, he can't tell her. Not only Rosa Lee would target her too into their little plan or downright make her do something embarrassing, the bespectacled Ravenclaw girl is right, she wouldn't believe him in any way, and even so, only unnecessary chaos would insure. Lucille blinks again and a groan of impatience grows into her stare. His lips curve in a scared, uncertain yet well-intentioned upwards curve.

"N-Nothing. I mean... If you want, you can... Call me just _Maxwell_." He blurbs under his breath, again with his ears red until they look they were burning, and then a gasp of surprise coming from the girl, with her turning back forward as fast as she could. Ah, did he make it awkward again? No response came from her, so he could only sigh in defeat. However, when he was about to take the first step, something made him stop, it was a voice again, her voice.

"Alright... Maxwell. And you can call me... _Lucy_."

"...!"

Silence. Nothing but the silence. None of them move after those last words coming from Lucille, and like always, she's the one who take the first step, walking away from her. No more stares shared, nor words, Lucille only walks away from him as he's left speechless, his mouth hanging agape by her words. However, he doesn't know, those words made her happy, and while he could see only her back in their position... She's smiling.

Lucille walks away and enters the library, and yet again, Maxwell is left alone. It takes him a few seconds, but once realization hits him, he could only draw the biggest smile on his face. What was this feeling in his chest? It's weird, but for once in Hogwarts, ever since he entered the wizard world, he feels light, he feels refreshed. Maybe it's the feeling of release, maybe it's for the fact that apparently she forgave him, he does know, but now, he's happy. He even forgets the fact that he almost bleed to death, look at that...

"Ahah... Ahahahah...! Lucille... She says I can call her Lucil-...!" And then it happened. When he was about to start his training to call her by name, something quite hard yet breakable hit the back on his head and exploded like a firework, smashing itself against his scalp then shattering in a million pieces. The suddenness of such attack made him fall on one leg, scratching the back of his head and feeling scraps of what once was something. He looks down, and immediately identifies what it was: "A-Ah...! A caldron cake?"

Yes. He even takes the small pieces on his hair to take a bite, and confirms it to himself: what hit him violently was that wizard confectionary, no more or less. He also notices the hoot of an owl, and certainly one pass right through the corridor, leaving him alone seconds later. Even so, still massaging his scalp, the little wizard apprentice looks around to see the culprit of it. Was it a upperclassman messing with him? Or maybe Peevees, the cursed poltergeist that he heard had the knack in bullying and messing with students? He was so lost and confused, it took him a few seconds to realize that there's a letter on the floor, lost among the pieces of his sweet bomb. Looking and seeing no one around, he picks said letter with a rather sloppy handwrite, and blinks in surprise of who send it...

* * *

 _'Hey-ho, Maxie mate~!_

 _I wrote this letter to say sorry of what Lucy said to you back in the hall! That was not cool at all!_

 _To say sorry for us two, here's a little treat! I saved a lot of tasty goodies during lunch, so you can have some! Don't worry, I'll send as many owls as I can to send all of them! Stay happy and healthy!_

 _XOXO, Your friend Nora!'_

* * *

"..." Maxwell couldn't quite figure out what he was feeling at the moment. However, a flinch of fear fills his heart as he reads the second-to-last sentence written in that letter. Miss Nora was certainly good-intentioned and nice of all things, so why was he afraid? Why there was a uncertain, trembling, almost painful smile on his lips? In a second, *BAK!*, another thing hit he back of his head, another hoot of an owl, and when he recovered from his little faint, he notices a piece of bread torn in half, crumbs of it falling everywhere and on the back of his head. Then, cutting the silence of that place, now several bars of wings could be heard echoing around the first floor, followed by countless, loud hoots of what it seemed like an army of owls. Stiltedly, more robotic than anything else, Maxwell turned his head around, and his despaired face met with the sight of several owls going on his direction, all armed with candies, bread and other delicious things on their talons, all looking at him like he was their prey. Much for his horror... He is. "A-Ah...! Aaaaah...! AAAAAAAAAAH...!"

And then, rumours say that a new ghost was born in Hogwarts. Moaning in deep despair, too fast for eyes to see, they say he's the spirit of a young boy who could only run for his life, followed by owls ready to drop candy on him, cursed to forever be bombarded by confectionaries of doom, to never rest, until the last piece of taffy falls on him...

Unfortunately for Mr. Filtch, those rumours are very real...

.

~~x~~

.

It took him several times and a bunch of soap, but he finally did it. Maxwell could finally say that he's no longer a literal gingerbread man. He can't be mad, really, Nora's intentions were pure and all, and even if he can still feel the candid and gross feeling of having taffy stuck on his hair and butter run down his spine, he feels bad knowing that his little admirer got herself a week of detention with Macgonagall. Even the joyous Prof. Longbottom, who probably suffered for having all of those sweets wasted, found the punishment to be rather harsh.

Well, at least she wasn't expelled, and his brown hair returned in being brown, not some myriad shower of colours from different sweets.

"Even so..." Hs repeats to himself looking at the mirror, then turning his attention to the wound on his right arm, or rather, the lack of any. Whatever it was in that flask, if worked in a way he wasn't expecting at all. While he was cleaning himself from sugar and pieces of fruit and bread, he used that opportunity to use that palm Lucille gave him, and just in a blink of an eye, those two scars on his arm vanished, like there weren't even there in the first place. Sure, they weren't bleeding or stinging anymore, but it's so freaky. He passes his hand where the wounds used to be, and nothing. "The wizard world... Sure is amazing."

He sighs. The wizardry world was indeed a dangerous, perilous, yet amazing world, and to think things like that are such a commonplace for natives to the point someone like Rosa Lee would grow bored of it and try to do something as dangerous as finding a monster.

Remembering her name, her objective and ultimate goal, a true shiver runs down his spine. There's still something or someone lurking around Hogwarts, with the power to petrify whatever crosses its way, and if things match up, he'll be facing against a true monster, build as a hateful legacy against muggle-borns, against classmates like him. He wants to run, to run around and tell everyone of such danger, but as Rosa Lee spoke, it was a risky move: his whole school life was also at stake as such, and once misstep could doom him, a muggle-born Slytherin. Students, professors, everyone would turn their faces to him, and in the end, give Rosa Lee the satisfaction she wants, without a single sweatdrop from her perfectly smooth skin. Really a stalemate, and he couldn't do a thing but to obey and help her...

Even so...

' _Take care, Mr. Argento...'_

...

He takes another glimpse on his now clean skin on his right arm, and takes a sigh to look at his reflection on the mirror, only to him to himself and put himself together. For some reason, even at the situation he's in right now, even with all the danger lurking around, he feels compelled to take he risk as for now. There's something almost courageous now on his heart, and now, this extends to all of his mind and resolution. He takes another sigh, another deep breath, then walks out to face another day.

Whatever might happen, he has the knowledge to stop it, and even with the chains binding him to Rosa Lee, there is also something else, not binding, but leading him. He couldn't help but to feel confident, even if just a little. There is something indeed calling for him, and he wouldn't help but follow it. Hogwarts was indeed... A mysterious place that calls people...

And now that he has the opportunity to help it, he won't lose it, he can't lose it. He doesn't know why, but specially now, he can't afford to lose it. And this is where it all begins...

...

...

 _ **" " So, Maxwell~? How was your day? Playing with many cute girls as of lately~?" "**_

"A-Ah... Ahahah..."

But of course, sometimes, the call can wait. Specially when certain twins are involved.

* * *

 **and what expect maxwell to do next? Find out next chapter~. As always, thanks for your interest. R &R!**


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